MikeCapon
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| posted on 29/8/11 at 01:44 PM |
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Marketing communications advice
Hi all,
As some of you already know I am in the process of setting up a company over here, primarily to manufacture and sell my own design of motorcycle
shocks.
As with all things the raising of finance is effing hard work although over here we do get the offer of help in the form of interest free loans from
local government. I'm in the process of trying to obtain one of these loans and I've got to go and present my business plan on the 15th
September. It sounds like a bit of a Dragon's Den scenario.
I've already had one meeting with the top man who likes what I'm proposing but says he has reservations concerning my ability to get the
message out to my prospective customers, ie motorcycle dealers and motorcyclists. So, I need to get that fixed for the 15th.
I'd value your input on my proposed strategy for the UK. In the past I've sold via importers but this not what I want to do for the
following reasons:
It drives the price up as the importer will of course want his slice.
It limits sales to those the importer will make. Some are a bit sleepy.
It isolates me from my customers so I cannot learn from them and improve my game.
My cunning plan is to run my own .co.uk website with a UK phone number voiped over to my office here. I will deliver 'direct' to each
customer (it only costs about a fiver more than delivering inside france!)
I will make trade sales with a dealer discount to bona fide motorcycle professionals.
'Retail' sales will be made on line with the difference that the customer will nominate a dealer of his/her choice to collect their shock.
I'll ship to that dealer who will earn a commision on the sale despite not having made the sale. This enables me to sell on line without
alienating the dealers who traditionally don't like manufacturers who sell direct and cut them out of the deal.
Now to the hard bit. Getting known. At the moment I'm planning the following:
E-mailing to dealers explaining the on line sales and pointing them to the site.
Limited mailing (it's dear) of catalogues to dealers by post
Exposure in the press initially in 'New Products' type pages and later by giving journos a shock to try
And for now that's about it.
Your suggestions, advice, criticisms or offers of hard cash  are all welcome.
It may seem a little bizarre to share all this with you but I know there are some damn clever people on here and I value everyone's opinion.
Thanks in advance,
Mike
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Worzey
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| posted on 29/8/11 at 02:06 PM |
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I setup a company 2 years ago and was faced with the same problem.
Email is okay but there is no substitute for cold calls and in person visits. A cold call is tough, but if you ask the right questions and make
enough of them it gets easier. I get far more business this way than through any outbound email marketing.
Attendance at events and exhibitions has worked for me as well. Its very expensive but if your looking to get some brand awareness the
"right" events can help accelerate your growth. Be careful though...its a quick way to drain your funds.
I've also had lots of success on Twitter. Get an account setup, follow the right people and post interesting things about your company but far
more importantly other things in your industry sector to build a large following. It's amazing how a few select "followers" can
grow your online profile. You might also like to do the same with a Facebook page. Sounds crazy but I've got a few big deals through social
media.
Caterham R400
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designer
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| posted on 29/8/11 at 02:23 PM |
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quote:
'Retail' sales will be made on line with the difference that the customer will nominate a dealer of his/her choice to collect their shock.
I'll ship to that dealer who will earn a commision on the sale despite not having made the sale. This enables me to sell on line without
alienating the dealers who traditionally don't like manufacturers who sell direct and cut them out of the deal.
Don't see the point in this! Despatch direct.
If you want a contact in Germany let me know.
I'm just doing the same here, not shockers, and I intend having a base here, England and Germany to advertise and despatch through.
Derek
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MikeCapon
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| posted on 29/8/11 at 03:14 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by designer
quote:
'Retail' sales will be made on line with the difference that the customer will nominate a dealer of his/her choice to collect their shock.
I'll ship to that dealer who will earn a commision on the sale despite not having made the sale. This enables me to sell on line without
alienating the dealers who traditionally don't like manufacturers who sell direct and cut them out of the deal.
Don't see the point in this! Despatch direct.
If you want a contact in Germany let me know.
I'm just doing the same here, not shockers, and I intend having a base here, England and Germany to advertise and despatch through.
Derek
Hi Derek,
Thanks for your input. I'll try and explain my logic. For a manufacturer to succeed in the longer term he must have a network of dealers. For
sure, selling direct is much more profitable, per sale, but dealers are a necessary evil because:
Many customers can't fit the shocker themselves. You can imagine the typical dealer reaction to " I bought this on tinternet. Can you fit
it please?"
Many customers will still rely on the dealer to diagnose the failed shock and offer a solution.
I'm not intending to give the dealers a full margin on online sales. And to get their hands on the commision in their account the dealer will be
obliged to make sales themselves. Commisions are not payable in csah.
Thanks for the offer of your German contact. Sadly the German market is closed to me due to TuV which is their hideous homolgation system for
replacement auto parts. To homologate my shocks I'd need as many €s as I'm investing to get the new company off the ground. Later
maybe.
@Worzey Thanks for the Facebook idea. That will be happening.
Cheers,
Mike
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pewe
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| posted on 29/8/11 at 03:43 PM |
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As said above no better entry into a market than personal contact/visit - for a lot of customers they pride themselves on being in at the beginning so
no harm in admitting you are new to the market - keep it honest, keep it simple.
It's all too easy to ignore emails but if you must ensure you address it personally to the relevant person and follow it up either by phone or
preferably a visit.
Over many years promoting my own company it has never ceased to amaze me how much more info you glean and progress you make by face-to face
contact.
One of the most useful tips on face-to-face is to say to the other person "If you were sitting on my side of the desk who would be the three
people you'd contact first?"
They are in the industry (otherwise you'd never have contacted them in the first place) and they know it better than you do so no harm in
tapping into their expertise/experience.
Further down the line (but not too far) you should look at web-site optimisation. Lots of companies specialising in this black art but even the majors
use it extensively.
Although exhibitions are expensive in which to participate again there's nothing to stop you attending as a visitor and prospecting to establish
personal contact with likely prospects - just be careful as Organisers can be a bit funny if it's done too overtly.
Also I wouldn't rule out direct sales in the anticipation that the customer will ask his local bike shop to fit them.
Certainly there has been a sea-change in the automotive trade in the last few years whereby the garage independents are willing to fit customer
supplied spares providing they are not required to guarantee them i.e they will only take responsibility for the labour content - guess they'd
rather have something than nothing .
HTH and BOL.
Cheers, Pewe 
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handyandy
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| posted on 29/8/11 at 03:43 PM |
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Hi Mike,
I,m not sure what spec or the intended market is for your shocks but how about putting an advert in the race programme of club motorcycle racing, you
would get the riders & specatators reading the programme,s ....all are generally bike riders & as for the racers themselves...always on the
look out for new parts at reasonable prices etc ( anything to help with the cost of racing etc )
There are a few very well attended "Club level " racing clubs such as New Era or Bemsee ( proper name is BRMCC), they don,t charge alot
for adverts & maybe you could negoatiate a season advert etc .
Other than that , send a shock to one of the bike magazines to trial etc & hopefully get a "plug " in the mag too...as you say
"new products tested" etc.
Maybe its me , some folk prefer to buy something that is posted within the UK....so , along the lines of your UK telephone number etc how about
despatching them from WITHIN the UK, don,t ask me why but it makes one feel that the purchase is a bit more "secure" etc.
Best of luck with your venture 
cheers
andy
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MikeCapon
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| posted on 29/8/11 at 05:36 PM |
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pewe.
Thanks for your advice. My primary problem in making personal visits is one of distance. I'm based in south east France although if the
opportunity arises I'm always happy to see my customers face to face. The other handicap I'll have to start with is that if I'm
visiting a customer then I'm not building shocks, answering the phone etc.
I'm with you on the shows. Particularly in the UK where you are allowed to make sales on the stand. If all goes well I'll do the NEC and
the trade show in 2012.
Very interesting what you have to say about dealers fitting the parts customers have bought elsewhere. I'd like to hear if anyone else has this
experience.
handyandy
Good thought about the race programmes. I'm trying to avoid using traditional marketing (£££) tools but that's a good call if I do. I know
Bemsee pretty well. I was their 350 champion in 1981
Getting photos etc on the 'New Products' pages and getting shocks tested by journos is already on my list. Surprisingly there are still
one or two guys around who were in the same job when I left the UK in the 90s
Lastly the shock is aimed at the road market although stuff I've designed using the same principle has won GPs
Thanks for all your input.
Much appreciated
Mike
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