ONE BIG IDEA FOR SUCCESSFUL SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING

ONE BIG IDEA FOR SUCCESSFUL SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING

I was taking a walk around my new neighborhood last Friday when I found myself in the parking lot of the strip mall across the street.  It was around 9:00 p.m. and in my neighborhood, they roll up the sidewalks around an hour earlier.  The mall has two restaurants open at that hour as well as a frozen yogurt shop called The Working Cow. 
The three food establishments are located close together and as I walked towards them I heard music playing outside.  Getting closer, I saw tables and chairs placed all around the restaurant store-fronts and approximately 80 people filling the seats. 
None of them were eating dinner.
The music I heard was live, played by a keyboardist with a decent voice and a good conversational patter between songs he cued up on his laptop.  He was set up beside the yogurt shop and mentioned the entertainment was courtesy of the Working Cow.  Everyone had a cup of yogurt in their hands or on the tables.  There was a line of people outside the door waiting to make a purchase.
The restaurants were empty.
The Working Cow provided a reason for people in the neighborhood to venture out Friday evening to listen to music and to, oh yeah, "let's get some yogurt."
Normally, the restaurants have the room and the furniture to promote themselves with live music.  But compared to the Working Cow, they were just chewing their cuds.
I bought a cup too, in deference to their small business making a risky decision that provides a financial return far greater than their investment.