Keeping the Fish on the Hook

Ask any entrepreneur who’s gone on Shark Tank, and you’ll no doubt get their story about the so-called “Shark Tank Bump.” The process of perfecting your pitch to the Sharks can be tough enough, but arguably, the toughest part comes once the deal is done. That is, the rush of orders most of the companies receive after appearing on the show. It’s not a surprise, really. Most of the companies who appear on the show are still fairly small, or at least largely unknown; certainly not established enough to be buying marketing time during prime-time broadcast TV. Even with a bit of a heads up, for companies that are still perfecting their production pipeline, ramping up enough to meet demand following the show can be daunting.

It’s one thing if you’re selling something nonperishable, but it was a whole different story for the guys at Reely Hooked Fish company and their Florida-favorite fish dip. After all, there’s only so much dip you can make between finding out you’ll be on the show and your air date. And it can be tough to make too much in advance — no one wants fish dip just sitting around, waiting to be mailed.

And, sure enough, after their episode they were inundated with requests for their yogurt-based, low-fat dip. For any new company, that kind of demand is a dream come true. You go to bed at night dreaming of that kind of demand. But reality can be a little more complicated.

So, what do you do when your small, local fish-dip company is suddenly in national demand? When you have people just waiting to give you money for your product? Seems like a good problem to have. But what if your product isn’t ready? And what if it has fresh fish in it. I’m no nutritionist, but generally, when your product is fresh fish, it’s ideal to keep that fish as fresh as possible. Which can be an issue when what’s standing between the customer and their dip is a potentially week-long ride in the back of a UPS truck.

It’s true that first impressions are powerful. So, better than having your first impression to a new customer be a spoiled jar of fish dip baking in the sun on their front porch — Reely Hooked stepped back for a moment. Instead of rushing orders before they were ready, they directed the influx of people visiting their site to join their email list, and they would be the first to know when there was dip ready to be packed up and shipped out.

With the kind of instant demand Reely Hooked was met with following the show, it would’ve been hard to blame them if they had felt like it was an opportunity that was too good to pass up. But, with a little patience, and an eye for the long game, they were not only able to build a list of customers they would be able to reach out to in the future, but they prevented a lot of people from having a first impression with their company that left a bad taste in their mouth.

To hear more from Steve about starting Reely Hooked and how they dealt with everything from shipping times to hurricanes, check out their episode from season 1, and subscribe to catch new videos as they’re released!