I was visiting a tourist destination in Maine this week that is going to remain unnamed. I was speaking with the owner of the business and she was saying that business was down. While I was standing right there, a group of six prospective customers walked up to the front entrance of this business, picked up a brochure, and were totally ignored by the numerous staff members standing around chatting among themselves. I was shocked.  Horrified might be a better word.

Then today, my husband, son and I went to a golf course in Maine to play nine holes of golf. The owner greeted us nicely and we told her we wanted to play golf. She said, “you don’t want a cart, do you?” We said “actually yes, we would like one, maybe even two.” She handed us the key for one cart. Then she said, “You’re only playing 9 holes, right?” We were actually only playing nine but why couldn’t she have said, “Would you like to play 18 holes? It’s a better price overall per hole if you play 18 rather than 9.” But she didn’t.

This kind of behavior makes me crazy. My son says “Mom, they’re not your clients so get over it.” But I’m tired of hearing people complain that business is down when they almost seem to try do everything possible to prevent themselves from making more money.

I’ve been thinking about branding a lot lately becuase I’m giving a talk  on branding at a conference later this month. With my two encounters with tourism businesses this weekend, it made me think how every single encounter is an opportunity to improve your business, and every contact with customers, whether they are current customers or prospects, becomes part of your brand story. Every impression you or your employees make with the public becomes part of your brand story. So carpe diem, people!

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