This is the story of a $51 million boondoggle called The Loop Trolley. The Trolley is a 2.2-mile streetcar line in St. Louis that connects the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park with the Delmar Loop entertainment district. Those who pitched the idea said the Trolley would be a major tourist attraction, shuttling visitors from a popular museum to a popular dining and shopping district. It hasn’t turned out that way. The Loop Trolley Company, the nonprofit that manages the line, projected annual ticket revenue of $394,433. After seven months of operation in July 2019, the Trolley Company reported 11,364 tickets sold for $22,283 in revenue. One month later, the Trolley Company announced it would hire comedians to deliver stand-up routines on the streetcar. They dubbed this add-on feature “Laugh Tracks.” “We’re super pumped about it,” Trolley Co. spokesperson Brittany Robbins told a local newspaper. “You know, the Loop Trolley is one of St. Louis’ great attractions, and this just adds to the experience St. Louis and tourists visiting from elsewhere will be able to enjoy when riding.” Ummm… Not so much. Laugh Tracks has derailed. Last week, The Trolley Company asked local governments for a $700,000 bailout to stay afloat. That’s after spending more than $51 million — from a $25 million federal grant, a 1-cent local sales tax and other sources — to build the thing. No one’s laughing now. I’m sad about this. A little mad, too. I’m a taxpayer, and I paid for this. I wonder who conducted the market research. I wonder if there was ANY market research. Were there really throngs of tourists clamoring for an old-timey way to travel from the museum to the loop? If there were, show me the study. Were they really getting feedback that said, “I’d ride the Trolley more often…if only the ride was more entertaining?” If so, show me the survey results. Don’t get me wrong. I think the Missouri History Museum is a great place. I encourage you to go when you’re in St. Louis. Same goes for the Delmar Loop. I eat there often. I’ve spent countless hours watching movies and gobbling popcorn in the Tivoli movie theater, and I’ve bought countless treasures at Vintage Vinyl — one of the planet’s great used record stores. The Museum and the Loop are two great places in this great city. That doesn’t mean there’s demand to travel between the two on refurbished streetcars. Those who championed the idea are good, honest people who believed this would be a hit. The world is littered with failed business ideas hatched by good, honest people who believed they were on to something big. The common thread in many of those failures: Those good, honest people can’t answer two key questions: What problem will this solve? What desire will this fulfill? If you can answer those questions, you probably have a viable business… … and you have a good story to promote the business. Tom MarketVolt p.s. Here’s a fun riddle: Name the two states in the USA that border the most states. Answer: Tennessee (Missouri, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas) and Missouri (Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska). p.p.s. We help businesses figure out what they sell and how. Then we help them identify and connect with their target markets so people will view you as a welcome guest and listen to what you’re saying. If you want to discuss how to make it happen for your business, email me at tom@marketvolt.com. For no charge and no strings attached, we’ll discuss with you how you’re building email lists, generating new leads and generally finding and connecting with prospects. If you like these emails, please do me this favor: Forward this to someone who might also enjoy it and encourage them to sign up for future emails on our website at MarketVolt.com. |
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