This phrase rears its ugly head again. We seem to recall it popping up in the mid-90s, shortly after the bust.

This time, it’s in Mason Lerner’s Houston Chronicle story (“The Laff Stop’s owner is vying for laughs with a deep-pocketed, nationally franchised chain”) that examines the dilemma of Jeff McFerrin, who purchased Houston’s Laff Stop the same year the Improv moved into town.

The Improv is not the only competition McFerrin faces. Since its opening, a host of stand-up comedy clubs have come and gone, with some like the Laff Spot Comedy Cafe and Comedy Showcase surviving and doing well.

And that’s not to mention the many bars and hotels that regularly host comedy nights.

“What we had was a diluted comic pool. We were both going after the same comics,” McFerrin said of the Improv. “And then there is the Verizon Wireless Theater and other venues like that, which were telling comics they could make as much for one show as we could pay them for six shows. So that is the No. 1 challenge.”

Lerner could have stopped right there and had himself a tidy David and Goliath story. Instead, he solicits the opinion of Cap City Comedy Club GM Margie Coyle, who offers sane, sensible advice on how to differentiate the product, how to adapt to the changing landscape.

As for the challenge of competing for top acts, she said, McFerrin definitely has his work cut out for him. But it can be done.

“That’s a tough one. You just have to take your knocks and keep plugging away. One thing about this business is that there is a lot of talent out there. If they can’t get certain acts, then they go after other acts. Maybe they are lesser known, but there is plenty of talent out there,” Coyle said.

She added that the Laff Stop will also have to offer better service and a better atmosphere.

Coyle said there can even be advantages to featuring lesser-known comics.

But she said that will only work if McFerrin is always on his toes when it comes to marketing and promotion.

“The big names are not cheap,” she said. “They take a large percentage of the door. If you can get crafty at getting people into the club for your moderate-range-priced talent, you’re doing about the same on your own.”

As two people who are currently in the “moderate-range-priced talent” category, we much prefer Ms. Coyle’s approach. We’ve never tried to get into the Stop, so we’re not sure how McFerrin goes about the task of finding talent. But, we’ve all too often run into club owners and GMs who flat out say that they don’t look at tapes. And we don’t see them at festivals. And rare is the owner/GM who relies on the word of a trusted comic who recommends a fellow performer. So, we wonder, how ever do they expect to find the “moderate-range-priced talent” that might hold the key to their survival?

Coyle is correct, though, when she says that there is “plenty of talent out there.” Much of it with 20 years (or more) of experience and with finely honed acts that play well to most/all geographic regions and to a wide demographic. And, with the internet, YouTube, MySpace and DVDs, it has never been easier for the McFerrins of the world to connect with that talent. Start here.