Save H&H Bagels

H&H Bagels, the Manhattan store made famous by the Seinfeld tv show, is closing. The bulletin board near the laundry room of my building has a flier soliciting support, and a number to call to join a petition, but no social media info or internet links for sign ups. I began to wonder if this campaign would be improved with the benefit of technology.

A quick search brings up news stories detailing the saga of the store's owner, and various reviews from the past. It turns out the owner has had some legal problems, and that the store doesn't provide much customer service, being more of a bakery than a cafe/restaurant.

Perhaps if my search had uncovered a Facebook page or Twitter feed from H&H in the first few results, there would have been a chance to put some spin on the owner's reputation, as well as created a mechanism for me to be enlisted as a supporter. Had I followed a Twitter feed or liked a Facebook fan page, they could have contacted me directly, or quoted me speaking about the bagels to my followers.

If a marketing strategy is defined by four p's, place, people, promotion and product (or something like that), H&H would still have a challenge even if its promotion were more together online.

H&H Bagels is across the street from Zabar's, who make better bagels at a lower price, as well as supplying better customer service. A large population could be reached online that doesn't know about Zabar's, however, around the country.

H&H's internet strategy should be facilitated by its physical locations, and the reverse is true too. If they had a big mail order business, it wouldn't matter what corner they were on.