Got Marketing? Segway of Clearwater doesn't

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m big on the Segway HT. The media laughs at it, people in general ridicule it and everyone I have seen ride it smiles instantly and loses their negative tone at least for a while when onboard.

It’s a thing of freedom to the disabled – though not medically approved by the FDA. It’s a vehicle of fun for those who are tired of the automobile.

And it’s the most poorly marketed item possible at Segway of Tampa Bay – Clearwater.

While Tampa Bay lacks mass transit – a vital part of the Segway’s appeal to get where you’re going faster while not quite going bike speed and going much faster than foot speed – it has traffic issues that have been brought up time and again by moi and others aroudn the blogosphere. People are looking for alternatives for short commutes and such and Seg of Clearwater is no where in sight.

Downtown Tampa is currently undergoing a developement boom and those who are going to be living downtown are going to need a means to get around that shouldn’t include the car – something that will travel where the TECO Streetcar won’t. St. Petersburg already has a large urban populous. Segway of TB – Clearwater? They’re on the beach showing off the device but not actually catering to potential customers. To show up on Clearwater Beach with the device sells the item like a novelty to the masses and not as a legit means of transportation.

Going to their web site, they laude sight seeing over mobility. They avoid the transit question because they happen to be exotic car dealers – why shut out one means of business with your other means of business?

It frustrates me when something that can be used is mis-advertised or just plain swept under the rug. Such is the Segway in this suburban hell.