We are a nitch company. How do I get our company's name out there, to boost sales.?

Question

We produce children and hobby videos. It is hard for us to sell our product in large retail stores, cause people don't recognize our name. We do have a fan base, but we don't have the recognition that we want. The products are: toy trains, John Deere, and CAT Machines.

Any suggestions would be great. We are a small business, so nothing too expensive.

Please only serious answers.

Thank you.

Answer 1

A few free resources – check out the sources box for links:

1) Create a blog pertaining to your field

2) Use Yahoo! Local & Yahoo! Groups – Be sure to read the TOS for each one!

3) Write articles pertaining to your field and/or expertise.

4) Advertise on Craiglist

Also, consider signing up for an affiliate program. These programs enable you to advertise on other's sites (your affiliates) and once a sale is made to you, your affiliates & the program are paid a commission.

I listed a few handy sites & articles relating to marketing, promotion & advertising. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* 301 Do-It-Yourself Marketing Ideas: From America's Most Innovative Small Companies by Sam Decker
* Off The Wall Marketing Ideas: Jumpstart Your Sales without Busting Your Budget by Nancy Michaels, Debbi J. Karpowicz
* Guerrilla Marketing for Free: Dozens of No-Cost Tactics to Promote Your Business and Energize Your Profits by Jay Conrad Levinson
* Entrepreneur Magazine's Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide: Over 1500 Great Marketing Tricks That Will Drive Your Business Through the Roof by James Stephenson

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 2

First of all you should have someone design a really dynamic logo for your business. Keeping in mind your target audience ,keep it bright and simple so it will catch a child's eye. Have someone design it for you once you have the main concept together. Make stickers and apply them to everything you sell. Letterhead , envelopes and business cards should be printed as well making sure that not only your logo, but your contact info is included on everything. Once you have your advertising material together then start really promoting your business by setting up a table at flea markets, Craft shows, farmers markets, shopping malls, etc. and approach hobby and toy stores to see if they will display your toys for a commission. Approach daycare centres and preschools to see if they would be interested in purchasing any toys. Advertise in news papers and put up posters and a few business cards on all of the bulletin boards you can find. Put an ad on E-Bay and set up a website. I can't stress the importance of a good company logo and advertising campaign. People need to know that you exist and you need to draw them in because there's a lot of competition out there. With some imagination it doesn't have to be an overly expensive thing to do and you will recover your expenses very quickly. Good luck in your new venture. Hope this helped.

Answer 3

Identify local retail shops that carry items related to your videos.
For example, hobby stores that carry model trains or the gift shop at a local attraction that features trains.
Here is an example: http://www.traveltown.org/

Approach cable or public television outlets that feature children's programming. Running the videos on TV would be the fast track to developing the brand recognition you need to for placement in the big box retail stores.

Answer 4

Press Releases are cheap or free.

Partner with another business that is complimentary to cross-promote each other's products to your respective fan bases(win-win).

If you can find some sort of celebrity or expert in your niche (even local) that is into a particular hobby you cater to, send them a free product. This can actually work.

And yeah, if you don't have a website- get one and get one now.

Start a mailing list so you can remind prospects/clients of upcoming specials or gift giving occasions.

Answer 5

How about giving videos to the daycares. Once a child starts singing a song or recognizing trains the parents will ask where did they learn that from. With over 100 children per daycare, you have a chance to get your name out there.

Answer 6

Hopefully you have a website. having a website is a very good way to gain publicity. Online advertising is a good way to not only give more information to people who are potential customers but to drive people who may be interested to learn more about your business.

Even better there are ways you can advertise for free online, many of them are BS, but several of the top 100 sites on the internet are free advertising outlets. Im not talking about search engines, in one way or another you have to pay to get search engine results.

Here is the list to the best free online advertising websites:

http://www.advertisesmallbusiness.com/free-online-ads

Answer 7

No. Swine flu has been around for a long time. Swine flu is thought to have originated in China where pigs and humans maintain close quarters. And, taking into account the vast numbers of people who have flu each year and who recover, this would make a rather poor bio weapon.