We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cindy Brown a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Cindy, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the decision of whether to donate a percentage of sales to an organization or cause – we’d love to hear the backstory of how you thought through this.
At Boston Duck Tours we have a program called Quack Quack Give Back. When a guest buys a ticket, they are asked if they want to round up the total to the next dollar. It can be $0,01-$.99. At the end of our season, we match the total and distribute it to 6 local non-profits that we support. It’s a great feel good give and we often reference it while on tour as we see recipients along the route.
Cindy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I met our founder when I was working for him in banking. He left the bank and decided to start Boston Duck Tours. I must have made some sort of impression on him as he asked me to join him in this new tourism venture as his Director of Marketing. Neither of us had any tourism experience but we were forced to quickly learn the business when we opened in the fall of 1994.
We offer unique sightseeing tours of Boston aboard replica WWII amphibious vehicles. Guests enjoy a fully narrated tour of Boston, given by ConDUCKtors in character and costume, and then in the same vehicle, they splash into the Charles River for a boat cruise. We give them an overview of the city then encourage them to explore the sites along the tour on their own.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
As the world becomes more and more remote, I often tell people about how we grew our business the old fashioned way – face to face. When we started our company, I took every opportunity to attend every event possible so I could network. Convention and Visitors Bureau Open Houses, Concierge Association meetings, trade shows, volunteer opportunities, etc. I was able to build my network by meeting many people and telling them about myself and Boston Duck Tours. I eventually became a person everyone knew and I grew to be a strong resource in the hospitality industry.
Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?
We have had the pleasure of hosting every Boston sports championship parade, or “Rolling Rally” as they call it locally. A few days after the win, the fans gather in Boston as we carry the coaches, players, owners, staff through the streets in a huge celebration. This local, national and international exposure is tremendous, not to mention the thrill our staff gets from being part of the party.
Contact Info:
- Website: BostonDuckTours.com
- Instagram: @BostonDuckTours
- Facebook: @TheBostonDuckTours
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/boston-duck-tours/