I have invented and developed a unique landscape product that gets people (who know about it) excited. In fact one of the head buyers of a major box store has moved to the USA and is actively trying to get the product into the market there and Europe.
Sounds good? Yes, but I am worried that it may be a product that seems good, but really is only a little bit good. There seems to be mixed feelings about the product on a business level. Are businesses scared of NEW and UNIQUE products? Can a “little bit good” product be marketed correctly to get fantastic sales, or am I being impatient? The product has only been in stores for one full season and we are about to move into the second.
I have successfully got the product into some large Box format stores, however product is selling a little slowly. We have done very little marketing and our market is also very small. 4 million people in my country.
The product also requires awareness as the actual product is a mold and the final result is the PRODUCT of the mold. In other words, what they see on the shelf does not reflect what they will ACTUALLY receive or build. The shelf product can seem dreary and “non exciting” until they see some finished product which looks fantastic.
It has never been seen before and product awareness is low as far as I can see and our retail outlets aren’t as proactive as we would like them to be due to the fact that they have a million other product lines and seem like they really couldn’t care less about how much of my product they sell.
The question is, how do I get to the consumer through the retailer? Is there something I can offer the retailer or do I need to get to the consumer myself? I have been thinking about TV advertising, however the cost is very scary. I do believe it may assist though.
###
Jay’s Answer: Pretend you’re selling the product yourself.
How would you get people excited about it? Would you create online videos showing the results, how to use it, etc? Would you have a contest of “most improved” or “best use” of your product? Would you offer free classes for using it? Would you contact local garden clubs to teach them the ins-and-outs of your product? Would you try to get it featured on a gardening show?
Now realize that you’re basically selling it yourself, just that the retailers are doing the order fulfillment for you.