Market Analysis?

[Boni]

LMAO - I needed that, Jim. Thanks!

Any haunters here done a "haunted motel" theme? I could offer lots of ideas. :|

As a matter of fact, BRETT.......

[Haunting Copy]

LMAO - I needed that, Jim. Thanks!

Any haunters here done a "haunted motel" theme? I could offer lots of ideas. :|

[Jim Warfield]

I have always wondered..

When you work in Hell, do report directly to satan? Does he ever give a kind word of encouragement?
Benefits?
I bet he banned smoking there too just to make more suffering.
That would be in character wouldn't it?

[Haunting Copy]

Sarah, I don't want to speak for Brett, but I did not sense any anger in his response. I think he was just answering your questions.

If so, my apologies to Brett. We're still in Hell Week at work (which is more like Hell MONTH), and I'm super stressed out.

[Jim Warfield]

Yes "People" Do Travel To Rural Haunts.

But it would take alot of advertising to get them to travel to see a cookie-cutter genaric haunt, in my opinion. They may make that trip once. ("Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.") (Other four-letter words can be substituted for "fool" and often are)
The first haunt magazine to mention me was H.A. and in Leonard's article he said something like the Ravens Grin Inn is one of those places that you can't get to from here, or something like that?
Maybe like swinging from playground monkey bars from one route to another is part of the challenge to arriving at an urban myth?
I had Seven physical levels to this place waiting for them when they got here and if they couldn't follow directions, got lost and never found me, it just added to the mystique!
(I love part of the definition of the word "Mystique" = "the special esoteric skill essential in a calling or activity")
When someone is looking at the outside of my house and ask me why I would do such a thing, I'll say:"It's my calling." (And I picked up the phone, didn't let the machine get it!)
The only real time people seemed to be hesitant to make the 3 hour drive from Chicago to here was right after 9-11 when paranoia had people thinking terrorists were no doubt waiting to fire rockets into their kid's school bus as they drove across northern Illinois!
Actually terrorists in raccoon and deer costumes threw their bodies against bumpers.

[Boni]

Yes Sarah we know there were haunts close to them We have had people tell us they checked out all the websites and we had the best one so that is where they cam e to. And were not disappointed.

There are also a lot of people that visit two, three, and four haunts in a season and know we are one of the ones to come to now.

Our name is getting lots of personal recomendations.

Brett, as you and I have very similar circumstances in our demographics, other than you being much closer to the big city, how much of your traffic is from the other small towns around. Like Wabash, Marion, or Columbia City.

[Boni]

I wasn't trying to insult you. I was just wondering whether people will travel to go to the haunts.

The haunters I've spoken with were "sure" no one would go to a rural area if there were haunts nearby (in the city). So I guess there are always exceptions.

Again, I wasn't trying to belittle you. I'm just trying to get some answers for people who are interested in starting a haunt.

Sarah, I don't want to speak for Brett, but I did not sense any anger in his response. I think he was just answering your questions.

[Haunting Copy]

Brett

Yes Sarah we know there were haunts close to them We have had people tell us they checked out all the websites and we had the best one so that is where they cam e to. And were not disappointed.

There are also a lot of people that visit two, three, and four haunts in a season and know we are one of the ones to come to now.

Our name is getting lots of personal recomendations.

I wasn't trying to insult you. I was just wondering whether people will travel to go to the haunts.

The haunters I've spoken with were "sure" no one would go to a rural area if there were haunts nearby (in the city). So I guess there are always exceptions.

Again, I wasn't trying to belittle you. I'm just trying to get some answers for people who are interested in starting a haunt.

[JamBam]

yes Sarah

Yes Sarah we know there were haunts close to them We have had people tell us they checked out all the websites and we had the best one so that is where they cam e to. And were not disappointed.

There are also a lot of people that visit two, three, and four haunts in a season and know we are one of the ones to come to now.

Our name is getting lots of personal recomendations.

[Greg Chrise]

The way the numbers work is this

If there are 4.5 million walking by there are probably 4,000 other things going on and 1% is good

If there are 1.5 million walking by there are probably 1,000 other things going on and you should be headed toward 4% return on investment

If there are 100,000 people wandering around aimlessly you might start out at 1% to 5% and over the course of years shold approach 10%

If there is a captive audience of 10,000 people you might get 40% of them to light a lighter to a moody song

If there are only 1000 people who care, you might get money from one in 20 so it better be a big ticket item like $1200 to 5,000 a pop

If it is a board of directors of 10 people it might take 5 years for them to decide to spend $10,000.

If it is just you hoping the system is going to work for you, you may get cable TV or something.

[Greg Chrise]

Why don't you just pitch this idea to a nursing home. First hold up a sign to get everyone to turn up their freaking hearing aids. If you can get everyone clapping to some old song it will make them all have at least one happy day before they croak.

[Greg Chrise]

If you call SCORE you are talking to a bunch of old retired people that will tell you to get some papers behind you, maybe a job at the post office and it's awfully tough to make a business out of a hobby. You will hear things like how old are you? Aren't you a little old to be playing halloween and all kinds of crap that might have been how they did it back in the day. Hey grandpa! do you think text messaging would work? How about social media? You have got to be kidding me. CHRIST!

You wanna find out how many people they saw? find their blabber mouth accountant.

Jim is old enough to be the haunted version of SCORE and he is right. YOu will not know until you do it. It is called "devoping a market" where perhaps one does not exist and may not exist until you demand it exists for more than 3 years. Some times it takes several haunts in town to jump start any serious intrest at all.

There is no one you can call, no group of people you can hang around and spend hundreds of dollars being pals and attending meetings and social events that is really going to translate into money in your pocket. It is great to get these people's quick blessing but they are not your customers. They in fact may be your competitio if they see "how easy it must be" to get people in lines with money to spend.

[Haunting Copy]

Brett - The website is beautiful. 1%? So, you guys are only pulling in th 6000 range during the season? Thats surprising.

It's common for businesses to run at 1%.

[Haunting Copy]

We are in a town of 17,000 with 35,000 in county near a bigger city (Ft Wayne) of 200,000 with 600,000 in metro area of which we are considered a part of.

Our customers are asked for their hometown at the door and a tally sheet is kept. We have done this the past ten years. Most recent years, 35 percent was from our town area and 65 % from out of town (at least 20 mile away). This past year, the in town numbers were 16.71 % because we feel we had more out of town guests and out in town numers were identical three of the last four years.

We had many from out of our marketing area that found us online and traveled to us, sometimes from personal referrals about our event. The internet is definately our friend.

We are in the 1% catch rate of our market probably.

Brett, that's a good idea, getting their info at the door! Kind of like when you go to Academy, they always ask for your zip.

Those out-of-towners, do you know whether there were haunts that were closer to them? Or was yours the closest?

Thanks

[rwrussom]

Brett - The website is beautiful. 1%? So, you guys are only pulling in th 6000 range during the season? Thats surprising.