My company is a design, sales and distribution company selling products in the kitchen. We have a new manual iced coffee maker that is super simple to use and brews delicious iced coffee that can store in your fridge for 2 weeks and is 65% less acidic than hot brewed coffee. It's going to hit the shelves of major big box retailers this summer. How can I get awareness quickly?
Sounds delicious. I LOVE ice coffee.
My advice is to definitely generate buzz on social media as well as a series of YouTube videos of every day people using the unit and enjoying the iced coffee.
Some ideas:
1. Join a coffee lovers group on Facebook and LinkedIn. More importantly, an iced coffee lovers group. There are several on Facebook for both regular and iced coffee.
2. Once you join those coffee lovers groups, definitely start talking about making iced coffee manually. Don't push the product yet, but if you have an employee who can post on Facebook every day, I suggest posting, liking, and getting into the group conversations. Make your brand known by making your presence know.
3. YouTube videos. You do not need anything elaborate, but definitely decent. Have several YouTube videos of people using the product and enjoying it in the hot outdoors. Also, a video where you can teach people to make iced coffee like a recipe and have your product in the spotlight throughout the video.
I have so many more suggestions for Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Google Plus. I'd am available to provide you more solutions as well, if you are interested.
Bruce
I can help you substantially here. Ping me.
Though you certainly can market to "get awareness" and possibly to so "quickly" - I'd suggest that you might reconsider those strategic objectives in favor of marketing to make enough sales and to do so at a margin that allows you to meet your financial objectives (in other words - to do so profitably).
(And by the way - even if you quit reading here - at the very least take this suggestion: Start getting more quantitative about your goals / objectives. If you insist on keeping the objectives you mention in your description - define exactly what "awareness" and "quickly" need to mean in order for your business to succeed.)
If you're still reading, here are some questions for you to consider...
Based on your description:
1. Which market wants a "new manual iced coffee maker"?
2. "Super simple" according to whom? And is this group / market the same as the market you identified in #1?
3. "Delicious" according to whom? And again - is this group / market the same as the market you identified in #1 and also #2?
4. Which market wants an iced coffee that you can "store in your fridge..." etc.
I think you get the point.
Though it IS possible to market and sell a product successfully AFTER you've created the product - it's a heck of a lot easier to identify the market first and build what they want and then sell it to them.
It's ALSO a lot easier to construct a Business Model BEFORE you do any of that.
However it's still possible (though a bit more challenging) to start with a product and then build a Business Model and discover your market, etc.
For assistance doing these things - give me a call.
In any case - I wish you the best of luck!
Find local TV station hosts that do morning talk shows. Send them a unit and track the package. Then send them an email with a link to a video/audio recording of you greeting them by name and telling them why you sent them the unit. Then show up at the TV station with 30 brewed ice coffees for the staff, put a note on each coffee that says "Courtesy of a fan of <name of TV show host>, and bring them to the receptionist (if you're worried about the local food health laws), bring 10 of the units themselves, with the aforementioned note, and ask the receptionist to give one unit to each of the senior executives/producers of the TV show. At least a couple staffers are bound to thank the TV show host (in the offices) for the unit and mention it. Then follow up with an email to the TV show host inquiring if she received it, if she liked it, etc., and that you'd love to be on the show and demonstrate it. Then rinse and repeat the same process for other local TV stations/newspapers/radio shows. Is this a little costly and time consuming? Yes (but far less than hiring a PR firm). Is it a little crazy? In a Richard Branson way, yes. But when it works, it gets you priceless attention
Consumers increasingly take an interest in the health aspects of their dietary choices, a phenomenon that appears to relate to the growth of the internet and the greater availability of information. Millennials seem to be choosing drinks that offer something extra, whether that be health benefits, increased hydration, or an energy boost. These trends have driven the rise of energy drinks, vitamin-enriched bottled waters, and other innovative products. Consumers are also rejecting artificial additives in favour of healthy, natural ingredients. The first area being targeted is the spot traditionally occupied by hot coffee. We all enjoy our mid-morning coffee break, and for many years, the office coffee pot was a common feature in any office environment – until this role was usurped by the Keurig pod-based system. However, as the day wears on, people tend to drink less coffee since, for many, drinking coffee later in the day can affect sleep.
You can read more here: http://www.themarketingsage.com/how-cold-coffee-is-being-marketed-to-consumers/
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath
