Business Marketing Interview – Guitar Store

In an attempt to learn more about retail marketing, I’ve embarked on a series of interviews with local businesses. Here is what I discovered from one such interview.

This was a treat. There was a single owner and he had owned the store since 1961. He sold acoustic guitars and repaired all manner of guitars. I asked him if he made guitars and he gave me an earful about that.

Making guitars is not worth the effort unless you are famous or you have a million dollar operation. Handmade guitars are labors of love. You lose yourself in building one and find your day gone as you carefully craft them. When you’re done the customers want to haggle with you until you are insulted as your time is taken as nearly valueless and at the end of the sale you realize your hourly wage was about $1.50.

That’s a step up from blogging! :-)

He had tried making guitars in the past and now used that specialized knowledge in repair. People would buy guitars at yard sales or on ebay or as antiques and they would need repair before they could be used. People knew about his store by word of mouth. He didn’t need to advertise. He had been there for 45 years.

He had no employees and no hours. He said that at his age he didn’t want to have to answer to anyone. I asked him if he gave lessons. That triggered another very enjoyable lecture.

He most definitely did not give lessons, nor did he allow others to give lessons in his store. He said that guitar teachers were frustrated performers and spent their time outside of lessons whining about how unfair life was and how they couldn’t get gigs at the local clubs or how one band or another didn’t let them join. Lessons required a sound proofed room, but one where the door was ajar since most of the lessons were for kids and parents don’t like their kids alone in a room with the door close. Finally, if the student was an adult, then the lesson times convenient for them was late at night and this meant he had to stay at his store late.

The guy was a real character. What he sold was specialized knowledge. He could repair guitars quickly and easily. He had been doing it for decades and people who needed them repaired knew where to find him.

Technorati tags: business / marketing / profit / retail