Brands Used to Learn an Ad Failed After the Backlash. Now, They Can Test the Reaction First

It’s much smarter to avoid the potholes than to get a great deal on the tow truck that pulls you out of the ditch.

EXPERT OPINION BY HOWARD TULLMAN, GENERAL MANAGING PARTNER, G2T3V AND CHICAGO HIGH TECH INVESTORS @TULLMAN

One of the reasons the failure rate of new restaurants is so high is because—even when operators are moving into existing locations—so much of the necessary capital investment is required upfront for renovations or new construction. You’ve got to build out the entire business before you know if the “dogs” are going to eat the dog food, say nice things to their friends, and keep coming back. A successful restaurant needs to convert about 15-20 percent of its customers into regulars if it’s going to make it through the first full year of operations. These required retention numbers may have even increased now because fewer diners are drinking as much as they did in the past, so each customer is likely to be less profitable.

As we all know from the media’s obsession with opening weekend box office results, it’s pretty much the same front-end loaded situation with film studios making expensive motion pictures and then........

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