OK Friends,
I guess its time to stick a fork in it – its done. I’d say this thread has about run its coarse, I’ve pretty much said my piece - and made a fool of myself in the process. Before we wrap it up though, I’m gonna try one last time to make my original point - stupid as it may be. A number of you seem to still be missing it a little. That’s OK though, it’s the byproduct of the communication format. Were we speaking face to face or even on the phone, I think everybody would be a lot clearer on what I’ve been trying to say. Then...I would have gotten a "wake up call" from you all that I could understand and most of this would have been avoided.
I feel the need to make clear that as an overall marketing strategy, anybody that were to expect AudioCircle (or any other forum for that matter) to be the long-term primary target of their marketing efforts, would be rather foolish in my opinion. I have never “planned” on simply expecting future sales to be primarily derived from AC…or any other forum. The fact is that with the limited resources we’ve had, the orders that have resulted from AC up until know have been pretty sufficient to keep us busy. So…it made little sense to pursue other marketing alternatives. If you’re having a hard time keeping up with what you have, what sense does it make to pursue more?
That being the case, I have been “at liberty” to expend whatever marketing efforts we do make, solely on our circle here at AC. That has given me the opportunity to expound ad-infinitum on answers to the questions and inquiries that we have received here. I could have diversified to other forums, and on occasion have posted elsewhere, but I’ve always liked the atmosphere here so I simply decided to pretty much “stay put.” AC was the first to give us a “home” and I guess I tend to be a “home-body.”
Well…”home is where the heart is” they say, and so it has been true with me. In that I have developed a true fondness for all of the folks here – even the ones that don’t “get my points” and get angry. I suppose it’s nobody’s business, but the fact is that about the only family I have is my wife and my kids – lost my parents when I was a young teenager and all brothers and sister are 15+ years older and “halfs” from my folk’s previous marriages. As such I was always the “black sheep” that nobody claimed, such that to this day, two of my brothers live right here in the area and I haven’t even seen them in years.
So when I say, “AC is like a family” I guess I mean that a little more literally than what most might interpret. Screwed up or not, that’s me. Through this forum and the people I have met, both customers and otherwise, I have come to know some of the nicest people one could ever hope. I have made what I consider to be, within the limitations implicit therein, some of what I consider to be…very sincere friends.
You see, I didn’t start SP Technology to get rich – it’s the byproduct of a passion. Speakers to get rich? HA! You have to be kidding. It’s just something that I am gifted in and figured I could do to make a living that would keep me out of the steel mills or whatever. The main emphasis for me though has never been just to build the worlds greatest speakers and then be heralded as some kind of guru, parading around like a big shot and all. It’s always been about the people.
Before he died and especially after, I learned one thing for certain from my dad. He owned a little country grocery store that for its size had a tremendous customer base. Folks from miles around would come to “Doc Smith’s store” to buy their groceries. It was a true General Store from the old days too. Besides being an excellent butcher known for his quality meat, he sold everything from hardware to boots, cloths, toys, gasoline…you name it. His motto was, “”Everything in General.” We even had a soda fountain that sold ice cream, pop and candy. As soon as I was old enough to count change, I started waiting on local kids and others myself. Not only did I learn to “meet the public” by “doing,” but also I watched him in action on a daily basis.
He had an enormous amount of business beyond what you would think for a community that size, and a big part of that was because of his big heart. He would extend credit to those that didn’t have money for food and through the years, helped many people to survive. Years later after he passed, I was working in a factory alongside an older guy for over a year. One day in passing I mentioned my background and my dad. This guy said, “My God…you’re Doc Smith’s kid? Why if it wasn’t for him, my family would have starved to death our first year moving up from Kentucky!” After his death we found out that so many people owed him money for groceries that each of his 4 heirs (myself being one) would have netted another $10K each, were it possible to collect on it – which of course we never did.
The thing that really hit me was that at his funeral, he received so many flowers that they had to open a second funeral parlor just to have room for them all – and these were big rooms to begin with. Even that wasn’t enough as the flowers were spilling over into the hallways…wherever they could find a place to put them. The procession to the cemetery was at least a mile long and you’d have thought a senator or someone had died.
So…I guess you could say that I learned the value of relationships at a very young age. No man could ask for a greater legacy to leave behind than he did – as small as that community may have been. I guess that’s why I have been the way I’ve been around here and done what I could to help others, as much as having done so to run a business. My dad has been a tough act to follow.
Forward to the present, as I stated at the very beginning, I’ve heard numerous comments and even had many requests for a smaller, cheaper, nicer looking speaker. Considering my nature, I wanted to produce the Mini for those folks almost as much to make them happy as to sell them. As an overall marketing strategy?.. No - but to the “family” specifically here at AC? Yes. I was virtually certain that you guys would love them and got a kick out of the idea that some of you could finally have a real chance at owning our stuff – as I’ve been lead to believe that the desire has been there in many for a long time now…just not the means. All I was really hoping for was 2 or 3 guys, the ones that have been wishing and waiting all along. I was never specifically certain who they were, but I “knew” they had to be out there from all of the comments I’ve received over the years.
But now the point looks to be moot. At the time of my original posting I wasn’t aware of the fact that
bbchem was the active member of AC that he now appears to be. He commented in his e-mails that he was familiar with AC, but at the time I had never seen his moniker before and thought he was mostly just a “visitor.” Seeing that’s not the case, when you add his name along with the other customer from here, it looks like my goal has been met. 2 AC members will now own the Minis – yahoo!
As far as the PM issue goes, it’s simply a matter of efficiency. I’ve “grown up” a little now and have adjusted my expectations of AC accordingly. You know the old adage, “once bitten twice shy.” Well, that doesn’t exactly apply as I set myself up to be let down, but it’s sort of the general idea. I guess I’ve allowed myself to become maybe a little “too friendly” such that my expectations of “family” were a little unrealistic.
OK…call me the fool.
Bob needs to get a life. I’m still going to do all I can to help you guys, but I need to modify the level of my offerings as well as my expectations a little, and bring them in line with the facts of the real world. Altruistic goals and expectations are nice, but they need to be brought into line with the world as it is. Dreamers like Jesus, Gandhi and John Lennon have their place, but they pay the price too. I do my best to be a nice guy, but after all, nobody has ever asked or expected me to cut myself and bleed for them to begin with. That was my head-trip and my fault – nobody else’s.
Sorry guys, I didn’t mean to lay a guilt trip on anyone.
Thanks for the interest and your business. If there’s anything I can do to help in the future, just let me know – publicly if you don’t mind.
Thanks,
-Bob
