The Viral marketing power of a sandwich (Part deux)

Well, my first attempt to actually sample the gastronomic and culinary wonder that is the Salmon melt sandwich actually went awry. I picked up my wife from work and she deftly guided me to the Heidi’s Brooklyn Deli location where…

we ended up deeply disappointed. It was almost 6pm.

The place was closed!!

How sad! I razzed my wife about teasing me with a phantom salmon melt sandwich and bringing me too late to the place.

Well, today just by chance we were going by the same neighborhood and decided to try again.
What happened when we got there illustrates the power of word-of-mouth in a small business.

When we got to the counter and tried to order the salmon melt sandwich, we were told they were “sold out of salmon”! We asked about whether there was another Heidi’s located within striking distance, and were told the nearest was in Downtown Denver.

While we stood there wondering what to do next, another couple came by and asked for the same sandwich. When they were told they wouldn’t be able to order the sandwich, they protested that they had “driven one hour … all the way from Colorado Springs” to buy this sandwich.

It turns out the other gentleman and I were in the same boat. His girlfriend had tasted this sandwich and they planned to pick up this sandwich the next time they went to Denver!

Well, the good news was, they found some more salmon and we got our sandwiches!

It really was the best sandwich I’d tasted in a while. (Special note: I’m in no way connected to or affiliated with Heidi’s Brooklyn deli). In my last post, I mentioned how marketing and product experimentation can yield you the difference that makes your business and breaks the back of your competition.