In Response to Cristy S.

Do you think that you would want to raise a family in a small town or a big city? How could Rindge market towards a different target market?

I think I would like to go to a big city, but I hate to see children in a big city with their parents.. it seems like a very artificial place that lacks the "bubble" that kids might might need. I feel that a lot of people should feel the need to move somewhere less blunt. Small towns seem to help develop manners too, which is tougher to see in a place like NYC or Boston. The fact that you can walk somewhere in Keene and people smile and say "hi" makes a big difference.

Rindge could market towards people looking to build a family and help reinforce positive parental "teachings" I guess. I think that Rindge could also work on improving its amenities before it can fully develop itself as a marketable place. I personally do not know that much about the area, but from what I've seen it is very peaceful and quiet. It's close to ski resorts and it's a great escape.

What does Keene do to market itself, other than the college? Why do people stay here after they graduate, for example?

Marketing The Sound Of Music Resort

My mom is always trying to find things to market our business (my family owns a candy store), and she recently got an e-mail about how older businesses are finding new ways to market themselves, especially to people who are connected by social media.

The Von Trapp family is from the movie "The Sound of Music," and there is a resort-home in Stowe, VT that is an attraction for many fans of the movie. They found that there were defined seasons of tourists instead of steady visitors, so they changed their way of drawing in customers by being more connected through social media and by emphasizing stories from the family. They then chose to make a new package to draw in new customers.

The package allowed customers to meet a real member of the family if they stayed at the hotel. Many customers who hadn't yet been jumped on the deal, proposed during the quiet season. Now they have loyal customers who come every year who might otherwise not have visited.

"At a time when many hotels close up for the month, the "Meet the von Trapp" deal started driving new business. It was business that dropped right to the bottom line. And it was business that turned into repeat business."

How could we use this kind of deal to drive those not fully motivated to buy Campus Mom's services? Is it the fact that we don't have a great deal figured out or is it just the lack of awareness? How can we track our progress (in the case of this family, they used google adwords) ?