Nobody finds you from a flyer anymore

When I opened three years ago I did what everyone told me to do. Flyers in the neighborhood, a radio spot on the local station, a banner outside. I spent close to four thousand dollars in the first six months and couldn't tell you which part of it brought anyone in the door.

So last year I tried something more deliberate. Every new customer got asked one question at checkout: how'd you hear about us. Nothing fancy, just a tally on a clipboard by the register. After four months the answer was overwhelming: a local food account on Instagram that posts short videos of the fold and the first bite, and word of mouth from people who'd seen those videos.

I moved my whole marketing budget behind that one channel. Paid the account owner a flat fee to feature us twice a month, and I started filming my own thirty second clips on a five year old phone. Foot traffic from new customers is up almost forty percent since March, and I'm spending less than half of what I used to.

The lesson wasn't that social video is magic. It's that I finally measured something instead of guessing. If you don't know where your customers are coming from, ask them for a month before spending another dollar.