What would be the best way to promote my business?

Hello everyone. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get my new product / service out to the ex pat community?

For the last 6 months I have been market researching a new home security product. Its called a "Hedgehog Strip". This is a plastic strip that is attached to walls and fences to deter the very common opportunistic thieves here in Spain, jumping over your garden walls. The plastic used is exceptionally robust and the spikes are surprisingly sharp and unbreakable. They cause extreme discomfort for anyone who tries to climb onto them.

It will be available in 6 different colours

The product is manufactured in the UK and I have them shipped over and then can offer a supply and fit service

 

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Steve

Sorry to put a dampener on things but burglars in SPAIN would not be DETERED by this type of SECURITY feature they are very PERSISTENT thats why most people have IRON BARS to protect THEMSELVES and 24 hr GUARDS in place

They are so MAD they will even GAS YOU while you sleep then break in ,and with youth UNEMPLOYMENT at 50% and a LONG HOT SUMMER AHEAD a GUN and a BIG DOG may be the best DETERENT

Rod

 

This message was last edited by rod on 16/04/2012.

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I think Rod makes a good point, especially considering that burglars even go to the extent of using a car to pull off the bars on windows to gain access to properties.

I suppose in terms of marketing you will need a website which shows the product in action.  Maybe attend some exhibitions in Spain and create general awareness of the product.

Best of luck with it all.

Justin

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So I guess this idea is a non starter then. I have had quite a few presidents of blocks with pools who are interested as they want the local youths stop climbing walls to get into the swimming pools

This product is really designed to try and stop the opportunist thief not the organised gangs who pull grills off and gas people.

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Try leaflet dropping the right areas , community with pools etc try e mails to the community maintenance people ie resortalia , go to the independent builders merchants and ask to leave leaflets at the counter offer to do a deal on business generated from this ie 5% or whatever .
Look for building sites that have activity and speak to builders direct , make your leaflets clear simple do not clutter any positives ie discount , extra ,off ,free these words are all positives reverse block them ie if your leaflet text is red on white put the positive white on red ,you will find I'm correct have a look how the big players promote in magazines if they want you to read it they reverse block ,99% of the time it's a positive .
Good luck never give up
Graham

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don´t be put off by all the people that instantly say "oh that wont work"

They said the same to us and things are going well, it just takes time, hard work and patience. I would recommend joining a networking group.. There are always groups about, such as BNI or business 1st.  They will give you a chance to meet new people in similar trades to yourselves plus other trades that may benefit from your product (builders, home insurance, etc) as well as opening your business up to all of their contacts too. The 1st couple of visits are always free to go along to so you will know if it´s worth continuing with.

 

good luck

 

ryan

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 Hi,

 

I know of a lot of people who may buy them to deter pidgeons!  We had to make our own device - using nails and glue to deter them from landing. If the plastic you sell looks like carpet gripper and can be cut to size let me know.  I am in marketing and may be able to help a little. 

Thanks

 

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its a great idea, we put  some  on the  dividing walls on our terrace to keep the cats out , some people  think its a good idea to feed the stray cats roaming the community , and then they come and cr*p all over my terrace .this  plastic strip with spikes on keeps them out , I had to bring it out from UK as its not available in CDS  advertise in the brit papers perhaps you could mail it out to customers?or try to get a stand in a large shopping center ,good luck

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It seems like you have already started the right way by spending time doing the research and now putting testers out. 

I think with these mass market products you need to consider whether you want a hobby type business with a soft launch i.e. free media , forums, blogs, twitter etc or a large impact launch with paid for adverts in newspaper, radio, web links etc. A soft launch is OK if you want to grow into things and you can afford to live like that for a while ( probably twice as long as what you estimated )

The slight problem with using the internet for your main marketing is with the world becoming a smaller place and savvy surfers can now access products from anywhere i.e. Amazon, eBay etc  . I through other interests have come across both the pigeon  & the anti climb type products and I’m sure you have checked Spanish legislation

I am lucky in that I currently choose who to work for as a semi retired business analyst / consultant in several very varied business sectors and the common denominator amongst the successful ones only came after completing a proper and unbiased "swot" analysis so there were no unexpected shocks and also having realistic and genuine costing’s of the complete costs to supply otherwise most just slip by the wayside in time due to foreseeable events. If you havent completed this yet it may show up some great routes to market / promotional ideas.

All said I think Spain is quite unique in Europe with its attitude and arrangments towards security etc

Good luck in your venture

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Just to add to the good points here already, don't limit yourself to the (dwindling) expat market.  If a product is unique to Spain then make sure you hit the largest market here...the Spanish themselves.

Seeing as the majority of them aren't cat lovers then maybe that's a good direction to go with marketing 

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Hi

Excellent advice from Goose4462 and covered most of what I was going to suggest.

I would use as many sale/advertising options as possible on start up, as every sale counts. DON'T overspend on advertising! So much can be done for free or minimal costs (E9 per month on here...Justin didn't mention it in case he was accused of spamming LOL).

Build yourself a website and blog (with good SEO) and make sure when you post anywhere on the WWW you include your link. I would go with wordpress for the blog because it seems to generate more web traffic than some others and you can have an online shop on it, as well as the website. I would have one main .com domain and then some sub domains ie .es  .co.uk  .net and .biz. etc. Do lots of searching for the best purchase price and hosting. Make sure the web address you choose is related to your biz..

Make use of all the free papers...don't just limit yourself to Spanish ones, as people who have homes in Spain live all over the world and crime happens everywhere. Vista Print are good for leaflets and business cards...don't be shy handing them out! Set up a facebook page. A twitter account. Set up a Lindkin page. Join networking groups.

I think with a small, low priced item your main aim should be to supply wholesale. With trusted main stores SOR costs them nothing, but could make you lots. I would even approach stores in the UK (B&Q/Wickes/Homebase) because glass/nails/barb wire is illegal on fences/walls here...but your product isn't.

There's lot's of ways to promote and market your goods...write them all down and you'd be amazed what you can come up with.

Once upon a time trade was limited to our hometowns and a bit beyond...you can now go global with ease.

Believe in you and your product.

GOOD LUCK...hope you do really well.

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Very good advice from elviriadreamer

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