I met a fellow WV employee at a diner in Towson, Maryland, this week, and while I was waiting I perused the menu.
Something really jumped out at me. They made a big bold statement that coffee prices only include one refill. While I am sure that they do this to keep bums from coming in and sitting there all day and only buying one cup of coffee, it sent such the wrong message to me. Greasy-spoon diners cater to a wide audience and need to understand that some people (who pay most of the diner’s bills) often use it as an easy meeting place. This diner’s coffee warning told me this is not a place I want to use as a meeting place again.
This message also made me think about the messaging start-ups use. We have to understand that lots of people will see our messaging, and we need to make sure the message is really what we want to say to every audience. Looking cheap or small is going to scare off the customers you value the most.
