Download the January/February 2010 PDF - Pond Trade Magazine

pull up to the stoplight and see the fish swimming in the upper
part of the aquarium/pond and they would forget to take off
when the light turned green. It was a landmark, it was very
unique…BUT we found that people came in more from word
of mouth than anything else! In all reality that $10,000 could
have been spent elsewhere – better – but I was able to fulfill a
goal (and it did look cool).
Adding signage to your vehicle will give you a lot of
exposure as well and the cost is very low based on the life of the
stickers (around 4 to 6 years).
This koi aquarium may look impressive, but was
it a good marketing/advertising tool
manager or owner. It’s better for them to go away unhappy, but
not furious. People are eight times more likely to talk about a
bad experience than a good one.
Customers are the lifeblood of your business. Treat them
like gold. Be patient and accommodating. What might start as
a small sale, or no sale at all
People are eight times more
likely to talk about
a bad experience than
a good one.
can turn to gold. Expect that
everyone who enters your
storefront is there because
they have interest in what you
have to offer. Impress them!
Step Two–The Stores Marketing
“Ya gotta let’em know your there,” as they say. Very true.
What is the best way to market By word of mouth and satisfied
customers of course (see the above paragraphs). Beyond that,
there are many, many ways to market successfully. If you are
targeting a local radius of 50 miles or so, you should look at
local ads. Here in central Florida we have some “free classified”
ad newspapers that cost around $75 a month for a postage sized
spot. Creative wording will help. Our ad was so small that we
used the words “Fish Fish Fish” to catch their eye.
Trade magazines will also help. If you are selling locally –
advertize locally. If you sell via the Internet or nationwide, an
ad in POND Trade magazine can put you in touch with
prospective buyers. Many times a person from out of state will
come in with a magazine ad to see the store and typically take
home a pond souvenir. Magazine ads will help establish your
presence in the market and aid in branding.
Here’s what we found YOU DON’T NEED. A super
cool 4500-gal aquarium pond on the corner of a highway with
26,000 cars driving by each day. Yes it was cool and I personally
always wanted this, and $10,000 later we had it. People would
A Driving Billboard – remember to add signage to your
vehicles. Also remind employees to drive courteously.
Step Three–The Equipment
So what equipment do you need to do it right Is it big
tanks, small tanks, bead filters, widget filters What is it
In a really generalized manner, I will describe what I see as
the basis of every good selling system.
1. Water Volume
Probably the biggest factor I’ve seen in the success of a koi
business is water volume. The bigger the volume of water, the
better the fish seem to do. Small tanks are great as long as they
are connected together to form a large volume of water. A drop
of chlorine in 5000 gallons will not affect anything; a drop in
a 10-gal tank could be bad. The other side of the coin is the
fact that inter-connected tanks can spread disease. On visits
around the country, those with the most water volumes seem
to do the best.
Although these were not the prettiest tanks I have seen,
they were all connected to a gravel-bottomed swimming pool
in the middle. This company sells a ton of fish, with very few
problems. They use bead filters and UV sterilizers. The system
January/February 2010
POND Trade Magazine
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