Miller, Monkey Tailz find innovation is key

If Brian Miller, owner of Monkey Tailz in Green Bay, has learned anything since starting his business, it is this.

“If something doesn’t work, try something else,” he said.

The Green Bay Packer Mentor/ Protégé participant, who is being mentored by Bob Jahnke, Green Bay SCORE volunteer and owner of Top Hat Marketing, initially thought he should provide something for every demographic. But he soon discovered that this approach compromised the freshness of the product.

“When I first opened, I wanted to be able to cater to anyone who came into the store," Miller said. "People would request something like a soy ice cream for vegans, and then when I added it, not buy it.”

That led to waste, and an evaluation of his product line. He recalled hearing that Aaron Rodgers had a lactose issue and wondered how many others suffered from the same.  He learned about 65 percent of the population has a reduced ability to digest lactose after consuming dairy.

In an attempt to reach this market, Miller found a nondairy soft-serve ice cream called Almond Milk Swirl. The product is dairy- and gluten-free and made with almond milk. He decided to phase out soft-serve yogurt and is transitioning to the new product. 

Jahnke is enthusiastic about the change.

“This will be his niche; there isn’t any other shop selling that right now,” he said. 

Now, with the help of Jahnke, Miller will work on marketing the soft serve and promoting the other changes he’s made since he was featured in this column several months ago.  Another major development has been the addition of food trucks.

Although Monkey Tailz is located on Broadway, Miller has seen the greatest success with food trucks. He has participated in farmers' markets, at corporate events and festivals, and at community events. 

“If I would have known when I started what I know now, I wouldn’t have invested in a year-round bricks and mortar business," Miller said. "With the food trucks, my overhead cost is small, and the profit margin and sales are higher.”

Miller is not sure what he’ll do when his lease comes up next year, but is looking at options such as a seasonal location in addition to the food trucks. He had planned to add lunches at the current location but has been hindered by a lack of help. The menu is ready once he is able to find the right employee. 

In the interim, Miller is focusing on marketing. Jahnke provided a program he developed called VIP Follow Up and Miller is building an email and text list to stay in touch with customers. For signing up, customers get a free monkey tail (a chocolate-dipped banana), and other incentives via text message.

Jahnke, who spends time with Miller on a regular basis, says Miller is getting good at asking customers to sign up and about 90 percent of them do. In addition, he has a punch card that gives a free item after a number of visits. 

“He is texting about once every two weeks,” Jahnke said. “About once a week would be optimal. We have also talked about boosting social media posts and Google ad words.”

While Miller says he is getting close to being profitable, Jahnke believes he will get there by sticking to the basic four ways of growing a business — getting new clients, upselling, increasing frequency of visits and optimizing what you do. 

“I’ve worked with a lot of clients and given them suggestions, but most don’t do anything,” Jahnke said.  “But with Brian, he’s always listening and innovating. When we talk about things he could do, he does them.”

Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and past district director for SCORE, Wisconsin.