Bull's-Eye!
Advertising And Publicity
Lee says that MBS has focused its past publicity efforts on
magazines for bikers, surfers, skateboarders and snowboarders. Most
inventors have difficulty getting advertising to pay off because
they have to advertise to a broad market to reach a group of
prospects. For example, an inventor of a product for keeping
gutters clear will advertise in home and garden magazines, where
only 5 to 10 percent of the readers may be interested. That's
not a problem with MBS. At least 50 percent of the readers of these
magazines will be interested in a new extreme sport. Lee and McConnell had a clearly defined target group, which
allowed them to target retailers and other businesses that catered
to the same group. That group also shared several other important
characteristics that improved MBS' chances of success. First of
all, they were easy to identify—through the products they
bought, the events they attended and the magazines they read. But
perhaps more important was this group's overwhelming desire to
participate in extreme sports—every retailer in the market
was ready to feed that need as the group had proved its purchasing
power through the sales of snowboards, surfboards and skateboards.
Retailers wanted MBS' products because they knew the sales
potential if the market adopted them. Put these factors together,
and you have ideal conditions for an inventor's
success—conditions that Lee and McConnell took advantage
of. Steal The Shows Content Continues Below
Lee and McConnell found specialty retailers willing to give
their product a try—not all inventors are so lucky. One way
to build retailer support is to attend consumer shows such as ski
demonstrations, sportsmen shows, home and garden shows, bridal
shows or any event that includes your target audience. Approach
your potential retail customers before the show, and tell them
you'll pass out fliers and other information about their stores
at the show as long as they stock your product. Retailers are
usually willing to do this if they feel the inventor will create a
demand for it. Inventors may lose a percentage of their profits if
the sale goes through a retailer, but they'll be better off in
the long run establishing that their product is a winner on
retailers' shelves. Trade show directories at your local
library will often list consumer shows, or you can go to any of
these Web sites: www.tsnn.com, www.scheduleearth.com and www.entrepreneur.com.
Don Debelak is a
new-business marketing consultant who has been introducing new
products for more than 20 years. He is the author of Bringing
Your Product to Market (John Wiley & Sons, $19.95,
800-225-5945).
 Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
|
|