In 1997, Pat Johnson and I delivered a Jeep to Salt Lake City, UT. On the way, we stopped in Moab, UT for a few days. That was the first of several trips back to Moab. But, on that first trip, we met a waiter at the Moab Brewery. It was completely unexpected, and took a while to take root, but had a very important marketing message.
He had come from Califormia to Moab because he was a mountain biker and had a goal of biking in the 2000 Olympics. As he took our order, he seemed to be just a CA surf/waiter/biker dude. Nice guy... able to tell Pat about the various micro-brews that they restuarant offered.
Moab is an interesting town. It is surrounded by National Parks and National Forest. The area is incredible in its scenery and its uniqueness. The "Slickrock" is a draw for Jeepers and mountain bikers from around the world. Movies are filmed there, and have been for decades. During the winter, most of the tourists are from outside of the US.
So, as we enjoyed our dinner, along with a Dead Horse Ale, we were treated to a different side of this waiter. As he approached and interected with different tables and groups, he spoke different languages. And he spoke them well. French, German, Japanese, Italian. Surfing/Biker dude was not what he first appeared.
So, as dinner was getting done, we asked him about his languages. He told us that when he came to Moab to bike and train, he had never waited a table, and never spoke another language. But, he needed a job. And then he learned from another guy that some of the international tourists would tip better if you spoke their language. Others would hire him as a guide on the bike trails.
So he spoke seven languages. In two years he learned 5 languages fluently, and 2 more enough to get by on the trail and in the restuarant. And he was making a very good living and had friends all over the world... from waiting tables and guiding tourists on mountain bikes.
I have no idea if there was even a mountain biking competition in the 2000 Olympics... it was a demonstration event at the 1996 Olympics here in Atlanta.
And this doesn't have to do with speaking a foreign language... it has to do with understanding the desires of youe consumers. And meeting those needs and desires. I'm sure that few of the Japanese visitors to Moab went excepted to find a bike guide that spoke their language fluently... nor many of the Russians.
Let's contrast this...
Yesterday I pulled a political ad from my mailbox. A local candidate left a leaflet... completely in Spanish. The only English on it was the campaign headquarters address. It isn't a problem to target market your audience... but there aren't many "Spanish only" speakers in this neighborhood. There are a few people that speak Spanish... but they also speak English. In fact, there are probably a lot more people that can't read the flier that this candidate distributed.
Instead of knowing the target market, and understanding their needs, this candidate chose to speak the wrong language... and lose the message.
Speak the language of your target market... Whether it is knowing about golf in a country club community, or cars to a garage based demographic, understand them and their needs.
Unless otherwise noted, all content of this blog is the property of Lane Bailey, ©2012 Lane Bailey.
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