Attracting Consumer Attention Is Not That Different From Fishing In The Pacific Northwest
There are few things in this world that are as fun as spying a fish. Some people like the sport more than others, but all can agree that the tug at the end of the line, the vanishing bobber and the first prospect of that scaled aquatic animal all add to the excitement of fishing. It was the thought of this excitement, and more specifically, the desire to have a freezer full of Alaskan King Salmon, that a couple of years ago landed me on the banks of Ship Creek in Anchorage, Alaska partaking in a local tradition called "urban combat fishing."
Sounds like some sort of military survival exercise!
"Urban combat fishing" takes its name from the fact that 1) it takes place in an urban environment, 2) it's a style of fishing and 3) it involves scores of fishermen and fisherwomen standing side by side along the side of Ship Creek all competing for the same limited number of Alaskan King Salmon. Sure, there are times when the fish outnumber the anglers, but this was not the case during my visit. In fact, while I was fishing, only one of the hundreds of anglers within sight of me really caught a Salmon. Now, the first thought that comes to mind naturally has something to do with the "chosen" angler being very auspicious. That probably contains some accuracy, but I'm a aithful believer that the harder one works, the luckier he or she becomes.
The road less traveled. Please, go on.
After returning from Alaska without any King Salmon and feeling slightly down, I started thinking about what possibly could have made that angler the lucky one to catch a fish. My feeling was that this man was just in the right place at the right time and that someday I would also be in the right place at the right time. But then, I started thinking about what I would have done had I been the person to catch the fish. Did I do any research about where the fish tend to congregate? Did I know the ideal bait to use in order to charm a hungry fish? Would I have even been able to competently reel in a 30-pound fish in front of an audience of strangers? The answer to these questions is, quite simply, no. Therefore, my lack of preparation probably saved me from a potentially unenviable event and it unquestionably played a role in me returning empty-handed.
Ok...so what does this have to do with my company?
Super query. Had I, like the angler, been more prepared, I may not have caught a fish, but I would have at least known how to do so if the opportunity had arisen. This is a requirement to metal signs because even though we may not see it, we, as small-scale business proprietors who advertise with customized metal signs, must be just as, if not more prepared than our competitors in order to catch the fish (customer).
You calling me a fish?
Think about the number of personalized metal signs you see EACH AND EVERY DAY. You probably see more custom metal signs than you can count, and you MOST CERTAINLY see too many to remember them all. There are, nonetheless, more than likely a few made-to-order signs that you can tell me about. And that, my friends, is no coincidence.
Coincidence?
It's no coincidence that you are able to remember some instead of the other three hundred that you see in a day. That's because whoever the business owner is that designed the "chosen" put in extra work to make her business sign stand out so that you, the onlooker, would remember her custom metal sign instead of all the other custom metal signs. And, just like the angler who studied where in the Creek the fish are most likely to socialize with one another, so too should the smart small business owner research where her potential customers are most likely to be. A small business owner has to be smarter and more prepared than the competition when designing a custom metal sign so that it will stand out in a sea of personalized metal signs.