By Dave Millhouser

BOOM! Like an F-16 lighting its afterburner, the 1947 Aerocoach blew thunder and blue flame out of its exhaust pipe.

We smart-aleck young drivers had learned that cutting the ignition on a moving, gasoline-powered coach -- and switching it back on -- lit the unburned fuel in the exhaust manifold.

The resulting explosion was particularly satisfying when touched off inside the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel.

This time the stunt backfired (just cant help these puns) and shattered the manifold.

Working frantically to install a new one in time for a trip, we got the job done but the bus wouldnt start and our boss decided it was time to sell it.

The market for ancient gas-driven coaches was limited but our boss was a creative soul and sold it to a politician. The last we saw of that beauty it was being towed off to become a temporary office for the "Spiro Agnew for Governor" campaign.

Who knows what might have been -- if we hadnt broken the bus.

Selling the clunker to a politician was (at THAT time) thinking "outside the box." Marketing in the current business climate seems to require a bit of the same.

It would be nice if I could throw out a bunch of good ideas, but that cant happen for two reasons: Im not that smart, and anything I know is NOT "outside the box."

But heck, ignorance hasnt stopped me before.

One creative idea comes from outside our industry. A college student knew that a lot of his compatriots would be traveling to the same area for the holidays. There was no direct service of any kind, so he chartered a bus and sold tickets himself. To learn more, go to www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/11/syracuse_university_juniors_ru.html.

Creative, but not entirely new.

During the Depression a New Yorker going to school in Michigan seized a similar opportunity. After graduating he came home, and using what hed learned, started a bus line. Bert Askwith and Campus Coach was a huge, long-term success based on identifying and filling an unusual need.

A highly regarded company in Arkansas figured out that folks on sightseeing tours arent there for the ride, and turned their coaches into "Theater Buses." Their customers are entertained by a combination of knowledgeable drivers, step-on guides and video vignettes. Its all about the experience.

Many coach companies look longingly at operating tours, only to find out that the cost of entry is high. Deposits on venues and hotel rooms can be steep.

One clever New England charter company noticed that times are tough for venues, too. He searched out those willing to be flexible on deposits and began assembling trips that required minimal upfront cost.

Not only does this help his business now but hes building relationships with venues that will pay off in the future.

Some operators enter contracts with businesses, wrapping coaches in advertisements in exchange for a monthly payment. What you lose in identity you make up for in cash flow.

Many businesses have a consistent need for transportation between multiple locations. You may be able to save money, carbon footprint and employee time by offering some sort of regular service connecting facilities.

You can offer anything from shuttles, to a line run between city pairs. Put their name on the buses and everybody is happy.

Actively sell your services. If you have a photogenic facility, invite potential customers. If not, have sales people take coaches to visit anybody you can imagine that might have use for a bus.

Now is a great time to start wooing Baby Boomers, a generation thats accustomed to flying and the freedom of car travel. The oldest Baby Boomers are very close to retirement age and many neither like the hassles of modern-day flying, nor the congestion of modern-day road travel.

When I was growing up, many local restaurants and taverns chartered buses to carry customers to Baltimore Colts home games. In some parts of the country, this is common, but in others, its unusual. Consider sending your sales people to those places in hopes theyll handle the bookings and charter your bus for all sorts of events.

Talk to peers, either at meetings or informally, and see whats working for them. Take advantage of formal marketing training, either through the Bus and Motorcoach Academy, or local schools. Pay attention to what other industries are doing and look for ways to apply it to the coach business.

Right after 9/11, when business was in the dumper, a clever friend chartered a bunch of his older buses to a bank. They were lined up in front of the building as a barrier in case of attack. It may seem humorous now, but it was deadly serious then.

My buddy figured that, if things went well, hed get paid for having his buses sit. If things went poorly, hed be rid of his oldest equipment. He made sure the fuel tanks were full.

Dave Millhouser is a bus industry marketing consultant and freelance writer. Contact him at: dave_millhouser@hotmail.com.