Question It is always the case: appliances breakdown when you need the

When the repair person arrives at 2:05 p.m. to my surprise it is an old friend from college. After some reminiscing and current events, John Paul says, “Since you=re in marketing, how can I increase my business?” In other words, improve my company’s sales in the next five minutes or be exposed as a charlatan! A simple question with a complicated answer.
We discuss the business: he advertises in the Yellow Pages and the Penny Saver (i.e., a weekly publication of local news but mostly advertisements), but most advertising is by word-of- mouth; he places stickers with the company name and number on repaired items; and he distributes business cards. The busiest time of the year is summer. A company representative will travel up to 50 minutes for a customer, basically, the entire Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan area. The business is family owned. John Paul and his father are the repair people, and John Paul=s wife is the receptionist/office worker. Both repair people are certified by GE Electric, the father with more than 19 years of experience. Although John Paul has worked for Jenn for only three years, the business was started by his father 14 years ago.
In between dismembering my air conditioner, John Paul offers me his business card which he explains is basically the same as the Yellow Pages and Penny Saver advertisements. The business card is as follows:

Dismemberment, though, is not listed. With parts strewn all over, I am hoping John Paul concentrates on repairing the air conditioner, but he continues to [email protected] me for information.