• Survey of Rural Challenges
  • Small Town Speaker Becky McCray
  • Shop Local video
  • SaveYour.Town

Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource

A row of small town shops
  • Front Page
  • Latest stories
  • About
  • Guided Tour
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • RSS

Be specific to attract more buyers

By Becky McCray

Are you ready to attract more buyers? Then be more specific.

If you’re offerings are too general, few people can get excited. By trying to appeal to everyone, you’re really not all that appealing to anyone.

In New York City, we saw this sign outside a tiny steak place, advertising just “Lunch.”

Are your offerings too general? Be more specific to be more attractive to customers.
What would you put on the chalkboard
to draw in the lunch crowd?

Inside, we had terrific cheeseburgers made of ground sirloin with incredible slabs of bacon and tasty waffle fries. Much more exciting than just “lunch.”

New York City
“Lunch” hardly begins to describe it.

What could the business owner have put on the chalkboard to draw in customers? Share your ideas in the comments.

New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Get our updates.

  • About the Author
  • Latest by this Author
Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.

www.beckymccray.com
  • Will trendy axe throwing and escape room businesses last? More experience-based retail: the Hat Bar
  • Create customer experiences online like Open the Shop With Me videos, and in person, like Silent Book Club
  • How to let customers know when changing your business hours

June 22, 2011 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, marketing, mistakes

Wondering what is and is not allowed in the comments?
Or how to get a nifty photo beside your name?
Check our commenting policy.
Use your real name, not a business name.


Don't see the comment form?
Comments are automatically closed on older posts, but you can send me your comment via this contact form and I'll add it manually for you. Thanks!

Comments

  1. Rufus Dogg says

    June 22, 2011 at 2:22 pm

    I would put “Great cheeseburgers. Dogs eat free” :-)

    And then if the place was close to the 92Y last week, “Welcome #140conf 10% off; just show us your badge.”

    Loading...
  2. Becky McCray says

    June 22, 2011 at 2:25 pm

    Rufus,there were a bunch of us with purple lanyards in there that day. :)

    Loading...
  3. Fred Patterson - The SBIR Coach says

    June 22, 2011 at 3:11 pm

    Appeal to the senses in a whimsical way to attract attention:

    “Sirloin Bacon-Burger Special Today! Juicy and Lip-Smacking good! Oh My!!”

    Loading...
  4. Becky McCray says

    June 22, 2011 at 3:55 pm

    Good one, Fred. It was absolutely all of that.

    Loading...
  5. Kikscore says

    June 23, 2011 at 2:27 am

    “Burgalicious Lunch Special for only $6.99” or whatever the cost was could have made for a better chalkboard sign. Writing just “lunch” is so ambiguous. However, a great picture of a burger with the heaping toppings speaks to the person and says “let me get the burger in front of me because that will solve my problem of being hungry from walking around and I will feel a lot better once I start eating that burger!!” And Becky, you are completely correct. When marketing your product or service, you shouldn’t try to appeal to everyone; instead, you should be specific with your marketing message and limit your focus to only your niche market. Therefore, you don’t waste any time or money attempting to convey customers who are not interested in your product. the more specific you can get the more your message will resonate that you can help someone.

    Loading...
  6. Becky McCray says

    June 23, 2011 at 3:28 pm

    Raj (Kikscore), you are so right that a pic of that burger does so much more than anything we can write in chalk!

    Reminder to everyone, please use your own name when commenting, not your business name. (Yes, I cut some slack for Raj and Rufus today because I know them both.)

    Loading...

Howdy!

Glad you dropped in to the rural and small town business blog, established in 2006.

We want you to feel at home, so please take our guided tour.

Meet our authors on the About page.

Have something to say? You can give us a holler on the contact form.

If you would like permission to re-use an article you've read here, please make a Reprint Request.

Want to search our past articles? Catch up with the latest stories? Browse through the categories? All the good stuff is on the Front Page.

Partners

We partner with campaigns and organizations that we think best benefit rural small businesses. Logo with "Shop Indie Local"Move Your Money, bank local, invest localMulticolor logo with text that says "Global Entrepreneurship Week"Save Your Town logotype

Best of Small Biz Survival

A few people shopping in an attractive retail store in refurbished downtown building.

TREND 2025: Retail’s Big Split: what small town retailers can do now

99% of the best things you can do for your town don’t require anyone’s permission

Three kids in a canoe

Get started as an outdoor outfitter without breaking the bank

A shopkeeper and a customer share a laugh in a small store packed full of interesting home wares.

How to get customers in the door of small town and rural retail stores

Rural Tourism Trend: electric vehicle chargers can drive visitors

Wide view of a prairie landscape with a walk-through gate in a fence

Tourism: Make the most of scant remains and “not much to see” sites with a look-through sign

More of the best of Small Biz Survival

Copyright © 2025 Becky McCray
Front Page · Log in
%d