Re: Need Marketing Ideas
From: John Major (jmajordayna.com)
Date: Mon, 24 Jun 1996 12:28:00 -0500
Hi, Chris -

Could you be more specific about your problem? Are you having problems getting
enough folks to introductory meetings? Or is the problem getting folks to
commit and put money into the pot? 

For the first problem - sounds like you're doing most of the right things. The
line about "talking to 100 families, finding 10 that the time and means are
right for, and having 1 join" is not too far off the mark. If you can
"pre-qualify" the first 100, it's a little easier on you - try to focus on the
more open-minded areas of your local culture, which will be as cautious about
housing choices as anywhere else in the country. So, for example, we had
better luck (for the $$ spent) advertising in local "alternative" magazines,
rather than the real estate sections, because the mainstream culture here in
UT is even more, shall we say, "careful" with off-beat ideas. Articles are a
tremendous help for us, so whatever angles you can come up with to interest
the media, go for it - and remember that a lot of media content these days is
written largely by PR folks, such as yourself, rather than by journalists...

For the second problem, getting folks to jump off the pier - there we are
having the most luck with showing people real floor plans and the like. Once
it starts to look very real, and it is clear that it will get built, those who
are not running mostly on the power of imagination can feel comfortable
committing. Also, if households are actually choosing sites, that kind of
precipates things!

But if you're the first in the area, it will probably be a grind - get a good
recruiting routine, and settle in for the long haul. Our introductory meetings
are also our favorite social occasions, where the "old-timers", after
haranging the few brave souls who've come to look us over for the first time,
get to hang out, eat great potluck, and experience our community as it is, not
as how it will be some day - and the newbies get a nice high off the contagion
of friendliness!

Good luck -

John Major
Wasatch CoHousing

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