There is a cafe in my suburb that seems to change owners every month. It is a nice looking place, smells quite nice and there is plenty of parking. The only problem they have is a complete lack of customers and Cafe Popular next door has them lining up waiting for tables.

The owners of Cafe Less Popular stand by the counter cleaning things, maybe reading the paper, or putting a coffee together for a patron who is not interested in waiting in line next door.

The new owners are flabbergasted. They have bought the best fittings, they have the best recipes, a great variety of coffees and meals, their prices are fair and the service is excellent. They even have an a-frame out by the road advertising bottomless coffees and all day breakfasts.

They invested in everything that should make a cafe work, except the source of revenue: customers.

You could spend a few thousand dollars on advertising, and maybe get a great website. Or you could save the thousands and actually get people into your cafe.

Visit a local community club or organisation and introduce yourself. Pay for the right if you have to, and offer everyone a free meal during Cafe Popular’s busiest period. Do that with a few clubs, across different demographics, and try to keep it local.

And for those who turn up, speak to them like they are your friend and reward them with a 50% table discount off their next meal – valid during peak time only.

You now have 100+ patrons who are spreading the word of your brilliant new cafe. And the 100′s next door are suddenly getting very curious.

If that sounds expensive, compare the alternative: [Advertising Spend x Time Taken to Resonate with the Community] + Competitor Activities = Too Much Money + Too Much Time

Amazing new products looks great in a magazine. But if no one is using them or talking about them, they may as well be invisible.