Branson's Biggest Mistake

The last thing that the world wide web needs is another blogger with an axe to grind. That is not my motivation. I feel blessed to work for a great company, in a great place, Branson, MO, in a great, but ever changing, industry --radio. I told you last time we talked that my post would be what I consider one of Branson's biggest mistakes, so here goes.

A few years ago there was a media campaign and promotion celebrating the fact that Branson was the home of over 100 shows. My perception is that there were just a few people who were really excited about the effort, but those few really pushed hard. That campaign should have never happened. Here are my reasons:

1. If you asked 100 people to list their top ten shows in Branson, there would be a large percentage of repeat names. Probably, you would have six or seven shows coming up in all the lists and three or four different shows would round out the ten. Whether it was intentional or not, that campaign put all the shows on the same level -- we have 100 shows and you should see them all.

The fact is -- even though we have less than 100 shows now, we have a lot of shows with product problems. Here are the facts, if a brand new Branson visitor sees one of our top shows first, their opinion is going to be very high about seeing another show. If, for whatever reason, they see a show with a real product problem first, the rest of the shows suffer because the chance of our new visitor seeing an additional show decreases.

2. More is not better -- better is better. If you have been in the area long enough to remember McGuffey's Restaurant, you remember a real success. The food was great, atmosphere was fun and it was the hot place to go. People would brag about how long they waited for a table. The servers wore buttons that said the answer is Yes. They owned this market.

Then, the decision was made to add more locations and everything changed. The quality diminished, the service was no longer special and it was not to long that McGuffey's closed.

The over 100 show campaign was based on great intentions to promote Branson. I believe that when you focus on quantity instead of quality -- everybody loses.

What can your business learn from these lessons?

1. More is usually not the answer. Your advertising probably reaches enough people to have a positive impact, the question is can you convert that reach into business.

2. Think through your campaign. Does it really sell your service and does it really convey the message you want your audience to know about your business?

3. Product is King -- for any advertising to work well, you have to have the right product.

A disclaimer: Some of the hardest working people I know work in the music show industry. They are talented, dedicated people with a passion to entertain. Please do not think that this blog is a shot to them -- in fact, it is in support of them. Stay Tuned!