Question

Topic: Strategy

Pr Or Tradeshow?

Posted by stacey on 2/21/2012 at 2:19 PM ET 500 Points
I have a couple thousand dollars to spend on marketing my product (www.downspoutsafetycap.com) and am trying to find the best, most effective and efficient means. The million dollar question, right?

I have a PR agency that is embedded in publicizing women/mom-invented products. Though I believe the caps are a perfect fit for the check out area of a Home Depot, it is a safety product and moms/families are a good target. The PR firm works national accounts and magazines such as Better Homes & Gardens, and Real Simple. Granted, there are no guarantees anyone they pitch to will be interested the downspout safety cap story.

On the other hand it's trade-show season and the caps are also a good fit for Home & Garden shows. The local one sees about 74,000 people come through. The booth space for 5 days is less expensive then the PR campaign, but that doesn't include signage, inventory and 5 days of coverage - likely a wash in the end.

I like the PR idea, our caps can be bought directly from the website and we can order inventory as we receive orders, instead of ordering a ton of inventory for a trade-show and possibly not selling (though I can't imagine we wouldn't sell a lot).

What are your thoughts on where the most bang for my buck would be? The goal would be exposure, enough sales to cover and continue marketing and, of course, continued sales. Exposure to potential licensees and retailers would be a benefit as well.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts!

Stacey
To continue reading this question and the solution, sign up ... it's free!
SUBSCRIBE
Or, SIGN IN

RESPONSES

  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 2/21/2012 at 2:25 PM Accepted
    I'm curious why you need to spend money to get a product/press release put into a national mag.

    I would go for the more aggressive tactic, the trade show route. However, you need to decide-- are you going to go the route of working with resellers, or put the product out there yourself.

    No show is going to work if you don't presell, create excitement, and do the follow up. People who do these shows LOVE the amount of leads that come thru. However the majority will be just "lookers" or will involve cultivation. Are you intending to sell product at the show? Cause that would be the way to go. Especially something you see as a impulse buy at a cash register.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 2/21/2012 at 3:40 PM Accepted
    Your story may or may not be of interest to editors, but your potential market is likely to be at the show. And at the show is a good opportunity to test what message resonates best with them "your story" or "their benefit" (and fine-tune your story to capture the most interest). Most importantly - figure out why your market should truly care about your product as fanatically as you do and prune your message to this core. Is it saving 5000 annual trips to the emergency room? Is it aesthetics?
  • Posted on 2/21/2012 at 5:38 PM Accepted
    Getting into big box retail is expensive, I think you need to find a rep with established connections to help.

    Use the PR to sell direct.

    I'll contact you directly with other options.
  • Posted by stacey on 2/21/2012 at 7:13 PM Author
    Carol - I'd make more money selling directly, which I like. I have a fulfillment center that I can use if the direct orders started to grow. On the other hand, this could be a very high volume product - in a big box or chain environment, and I'd likely need to partner with a rep to fulfill that. Sounds like I haven't quite decided, doesn't it? I guess my main objective right now is exposure and again, revenue to support continued exposure/growth. To build awareness and sales.

    Jay - from the research and surveys I've done, safety is the biggest driver for purchases. The aesthetics is secondary.

    Schulte- I look forward to hearing your thoughts on other options.
  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 2/22/2012 at 12:59 AM Accepted
    It may appear you make more money selling direct, but the costs you have to spend to market the product and sell on a one by one basis may show the "blended" price has you earning less.

    I would not go from zero to big box. Without a track record, they won't have you. There is so many outlets inbetween-- ones you can make better margins. Reps are performance based and can help you market to the inbetween. Retailers don't cost you money, they make you money. And to be a valued resource you must be clear-- your job is to make them money.

    I am a huge fan of "sell them once" and get multiple orders. Even if you don't go the route of resellers, look for niches and be lazar sharp in your marketing. Go where the kids are-- do some planning to make sure your dollars are spent wisely.

    If you go the home show route I strongly suggest you have product for people to cash and carry. Otherwise, you'll spend months chasing down 1500 potential clients to find out they changed their mind or just don't respond. I've coached many clients in this arena and I speak from experience.
  • Posted by stacey on 2/22/2012 at 8:18 AM Author
    Sorry Carol, I forgot to answer that; yes, if I do the trade show I would definitely have product on hand to sell.
  • Posted on 2/22/2012 at 4:05 PM Member
    Any potential to do not only "after market" selling but, C) none of the above, and sell to companies that are already installing gutters and downspouts for them to add on at time of installation?

    Good Luck in your efforts!

    CVN
  • Posted by stacey on 2/22/2012 at 4:38 PM Author
    Thanks CVN !

    I have spoken with a few gutter companies - a distributor, a manufacturer and installers. Issues that arose were:

    1. Concerns about admitting the downspouts can be dangerous.
    2. Installers not wanting to take the time to out them on. Their MO is typically to get in/out as quickly as possible and on to th next one.
    3. That they warranty their work and if the caps were to come off (which they won't), they'd be obligated to make a trip to put them back on again, which could get costly.

    I initially thought that would be the route to go as well. Should automatically be part of the installation, but now I think the need will need to be driven by th homeowner first.
BACK TO TOP

Post a Comment

Related Discussions

Community Info

Top 25 Experts
(Strategy)