Effective demand generation marketing is always been important, but prior to a store opening, it is even more critical.

Consider the case of Whole Foods, a natural health food store that has published on-again, off-again news that they would be opening a store in Idaho. The news that they were on-again made me think about their situation.

Speaking for Whole Foods, Rick Duggan, Director of Design and Construction for Schlosser Development, who was interviewed by The Idaho Statesman said, "We never lost interest. The marketplace adjusted the scale of Whole Foods . . . and the timing of the project." In other words, the decrease in spending during the recession had caused a delay in their store growth strategy.

Of course, if the demand isn’t there, business won’t be good. Such a matter-of-fact statement is obvious, but encourages a subsequent consideration about the incredible importance of demand generation prior to opening a store.

Whole Foods, meet Balihoo, a provider of local marketing software that is incredibly powerful at demand generation. Its combination of software, media and creative services allow clients to create integrated campaigns that leverage a brand’s creative assets across a variety of mediums resulting in effective advertising that reaches targeted customers where they are, when they are considering a purchase.

Whether national, regional, local, or hyper local, Balihoo is on the leading edge of demand generation marketing for its clients.

Now, I just wish our software could help speed up the construction of Whole Food’s store. Someday, maybe.