Bull's-Eye! So you've got a new product and know just who to market it to. Here's what to do next.

What's a pair of thrill-seeking snowboarders to do whenthere's no snow on the ground and no clouds in sight? Ifyou're Jason Lee and Patrick McConnell, you invent theMountainBoard. With a deck similar to a snowboard, all-terrainwheels, and a suspension system that can be used to go down asingle trail or track on a mountain, the MountainBoard hit themarket in 1996 and helped Lee and McConnell bring in sales of $2million last year for their Colorado Springs, Colorado, company,MountainBoard Sports (MBS).

Not too shabby, considering Lee, 32, and McConnell, 35, wereintroducing a totally new market category on a limited budget. Whatmade it possible is that the company targeted a very specificmarket: "men 16 to 20 who like to snowboard," Lee statesemphatically. Having a clearly defined market in mind gave MBSadvantages in launching its product, including rapid retailacceptance at trade shows, the ability to create a substantialmarket buzz, a clear content strategy for its Web site, the abilityto stage events, and an easy-to-implement media strategy.Here's a closer look at their company's marketingtactics:

Trade Shows

MBS launched its major marketing campaign at the 1996 ActionSports Retailer Trade Show and at the Snowsports Industry TradeShow. These shows allowed MBS to build its distribution network ofspecialty snowboard, surfer and skateboard retail shops. What didthe shops like about the pair? They gave them what theywanted-products for their adrenaline-junkiecustomers.

Specialty shops offered another major advantage to MBS. Knowingtheir target customers like to try out products before buying them,the shops were willing to rent out the MountainBoards-andthat willingness was a huge contributor to MBS' early salessuccess.

Hold Your Horses

Trade shows are an effective tool for introducing a product toretailers, but they're also expensive, notes Douglas L. Ducate,president and CEO of the Center for Exhibition Industry Research or www.gotoexhibitions.com, 312-808-2347), a nonprofitgroup that offers helpful "how-to" packages forfirst-time exhibitors. Even a plain exhibit costs $2,000, and thatdoesn't include your travel expenses, shipping costs andpromotional materials. Often, your expenses will run $5,000 to$10,000, which is not necessarily a bad investment, as 75 percentof attendees typically leave a show with at least one purchase, and85 percent either decide what to buy or will be influenced in apurchase decision. Many inventors attend trade shows too early,before they're ready to ship products. All that does is turnbuyers off because they're at the show intending to buy. JasonLee and Patrick McConnell made the right choice. They waited threeyears before attending a show-with ready supply.

Market Buzz

Lee and McConnell created the All Terrain Boarding Associationin 1994. While their first competition was small-only sixcompetitors-what was important was that the race attractedthe attention of their target customers, who then started to lookfor the product and talk it up among their thrill-seeking friends.This word-of-mouth effect is typical of tight target markets.Prospects know each other, and they talk about what's excitingin the market. As Lee says, "We sold almost $1 million ourfirst year because we had people talking."

Web Site Content

As you know, people don't go out of their way to visit a Website unless it has information they need. Lee and McConnell nailedthis one, too, with www.mountainboard.com. Information about the board,upcoming races and new ways to generate thrills are par for thecourse here; their target customers crave this information on aregular basis. Plus, when prospects visit the site, they'reexposed to more information about MBS' products.

Events

Big events create market awareness, adding credibility to thecompany and helping to promote a new product. Most new inventorcompanies don't have the resources to stage events and need apartner. That's the same boat Lee and McConnell were in. Butthey found a willing partner at Snow Valley Ski Resort in Big Bear,California, a resort that catered to MBS' target market. SnowValley has a large terrain park for snowboarders and an expansiveskate park. Lee explains his success with Snow Valley as follows:"We didn't need to make a full presentation to SnowValley. They're on the cutting edge. They didn't need muchconvincing to give mountainboarding a try because it was gearedtoward their customers."

Advertising And Publicity

Lee says that MBS has focused its past publicity efforts onmagazines for bikers, surfers, skateboarders and snowboarders. Mostinventors have difficulty getting advertising to pay off becausethey have to advertise to a broad market to reach a group ofprospects. For example, an inventor of a product for keepinggutters clear will advertise in home and garden magazines, whereonly 5 to 10 percent of the readers may be interested. That'snot a problem with MBS. At least 50 percent of the readers of thesemagazines will be interested in a new extreme sport.

Lee and McConnell had a clearly defined target group, whichallowed them to target retailers and other businesses that cateredto the same group. That group also shared several other importantcharacteristics that improved MBS' chances of success. First ofall, they were easy to identify-through the products theybought, the events they attended and the magazines they read. Butperhaps more important was this group's overwhelming desire toparticipate in extreme sports-every retailer in the marketwas ready to feed that need as the group had proved its purchasingpower through the sales of snowboards, surfboards and skateboards.Retailers wanted MBS' products because they knew the salespotential if the market adopted them. Put these factors together,and you have ideal conditions for an inventor'ssuccess-conditions that Lee and McConnell took advantageof.

Steal The Shows

Lee and McConnell found specialty retailers willing to givetheir product a try-not all inventors are so lucky. One wayto build retailer support is to attend consumer shows such as skidemonstrations, sportsmen shows, home and garden shows, bridalshows or any event that includes your target audience. Approachyour potential retail customers before the show, and tell themyou'll pass out fliers and other information about their storesat the show as long as they stock your product. Retailers areusually willing to do this if they feel the inventor will create ademand for it. Inventors may lose a percentage of their profits ifthe sale goes through a retailer, but they'll be better off inthe long run establishing that their product is a winner onretailers' shelves. Trade show directories at your locallibrary will often list consumer shows, or you can go to any ofthese Web sites: www.tsnn.com, www.scheduleearth.com and www.entrepreneur.com.

Don Debelak is anew-business marketing consultant who has been introducing newproducts for more than 20 years. He is the author of BringingYour Product to Market (John Wiley & Sons, $19.95,800-225-5945).