Rocky's Rocky Road to Immortality

The museum would be taking in money and fulfilling its mission.

A Tiffany Story

I am reminded of a story from the 1960s when I was living in New York, told to me by a young woman who worked at Tiffany & Co., a luxury emporium on Fifth Avenue.

One day in early December, an advertising salesman entered the main door of Tiffany's and showed a sales lady a handsome silver key ring. "I bought a bunch of these last year as Christmas presents for my office and clients. Everybody loved receiving them—especially since they came in the blue Tiffany Box. And I loved giving them, since the price was $25. Do you still carry this item? I want to buy more for my new clients."

The lady squinted at the object and said, "I don't recognize it. But let me take it to my supervisor."

She returned a few minutes later and handed the key ring back to its owner. "We no longer carry them," she said shaking her head with sympathy in her voice. "We found they brought in the wrong kind of customer."

Takeaway Points to Consider

• If your customers and prospects tell you that they want you to do something, so long as it is profitable and is not illegal, immoral or fattening, do it!

• For the Philadelphia Museum, the Rocky statue at the top of the steps would be correctly sited and an amazing, free, built-in customer acquisition device.

• The old rule of thumb is that it costs six times more to acquire a new customer than sell something to an existing customer. Given the clutter of advertising messages and the choice of media, the cost is probably more like 10 to 12 times.

• Don't treat prospects as though they are clods whose only taste is in their mouth.