Promoting a physical product has become inevitably challenging these days regardless of the vastness of the web. Today, Ken Courtright shows us, through an example of a sunglass company, some simple but effective strategies in boosting your business overnight. Capitalizing on social platforms for marketing is a key step in growth. Join Ken as he breaks down six sales channels in promoting a physical product.
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Go 6 Wide Products
This is episode number 62. I’m calling this Go Six Wide With a Product. As I explained in episode 61, we hold a couple of events a year called Digital Footprint. You can find info at DigitalFootprint.net. When we do exit interviews by the speakers and attendees, the most favorite part of the weekend is the end when we do a game called, what would you do? We line up all the expert speakers. The qualifications are you have to have a global business. You have to be in business for at least ten years with the same business. You have to run a business that does multiple millions for multiple years in a row. That’s the qualification to be on the stage.
The attendees have an opportunity to walk up to a microphone and state the name of their company, their name, the industry they’re in and their current business challenge. We do these twice a year in East Coast and West Coast. Inevitably at every event, somebody walks up to the microphone and says something like, “Our company manufactures bicycles and we are struggling in this day and age with how to compete in our storefront with a lot of these online retailers,” or “Our company sells sunglasses. Our company sells some physical product.”
The question is almost always, “How do we grow this business? How do we expand and get more sales channels?” In episode 61, I did this exact setup, but I answered, “Go six wide.” It was dedicated to service. I’ll say if somebody asked me, “How do I grow my service business?” They were a weight loss expert, a physical therapist or a personal trainer. I went through 6 to 7 things that I would implement if I own that company of how to grow that business overnight. That was episode 61 and this is episode 62. This is about going six wide and adding six sales channels for a physical product. Somebody walked up to the mic and said, “Our family has a company that sells sunglasses.
We’re trying to figure out a few different ways to add more sales and we’re struggling. If this was your challenge, what would you do?” My response to them was the following. Number one, if you want major changes, you have to majorly change something. If you want a double business or triple business, you can’t slightly adjust what you’re already doing. If it was me and my family bought a company that sold sunglasses, I would find out exactly how they’re currently selling them. I wouldn’t stop at that. I would do a SWOT analysis, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats. I would stop a few of the things and increase a few of the things depending on the findings of that analysis.
The greatest compliment in the world is being called by your first name. Click To TweetSend Out Samples
What I would probably do first is I’d make at least six columns and create six new avenues of growth that this company has never seen before. This is called Going Six Wide. The first one is I would send out no less than 200 samples to 100 blog reviewers and 100 YouTube reviewers. I would expect a 15% to 30% response. I would expect immediate sales from that. We have a lot of history. I’ve covered a couple of times on a podcast about a girl that was a biochemist that sent out 400-plus samples. In the following year, she did $500,000 in sales from 400 samples. Number one, I would send out samples to people of influence so they could do reviews on them. I wouldn’t stop at sending the sample. I would follow up. Number one is I would get out samples as fast as humanly possible. First, you have to find out who are the most influential people in the world of sunglasses. You’re going to have to do your homework and ask around, but you will be able to find them.
Send Shock And Awe Boxes
Number two, from a B2B standpoint, if I’m looking for distributors, I would send what are called shock-and-awe boxes to the 50 largest buyers of sunglasses. There’s a number of different ways to set up a shock-and-awe box, but do your own homework there by Googling that. To me, if you landed only two new distributors from 50 shock-and-awe boxes, what a home run that would be.
Fish Finder
Number three, I would use what’s called a fish finder. A fish finder means if you’re going to go fishing in the deep blue ocean and if you tried to go sport fishing without a fish finder, you’re just going to float around. You’ve got to have a fish finder to show you exactly where the fish are. You want to put the proper bait on the hook, drop it right on the fish and catch fish.
Purple Cow
In the world of selling sunglasses, a fish finder would show us where does at least once or twice a year, all of the major buyers of sunglasses hang out in the same location. It’s probably at some retail trade show or sunglass trade show and you want to make sure that you have not just a booth, you’ve got to have a booth there with what’s called a purple cow. A purple cow is where you do something crazy and extreme that every person walking in the booth within 30 minutes, by pure word of mouth, somebody walks up to them and says, “Whatever you do, do not miss the sunglass hut. They’re giving away this. They’ve got a 7’4” person doing this dance.” Make something up but do something so guerrilla marketing and attention-getting. A lot of people have a booth. They forget that people are walking by the booth to get the pens, pencils and the chocolates. You want to get their attention and hold their attention in the booth.
You want to get yourself once or twice a year inside the biggest density of buyers with the biggest bait you can. I don’t care if you’ve got to call an insurance company and take a $2,000 rider out and have them do an 85-foot putt uphill, downhill. If they get it in the hole, they win $1 million. Insurance companies will do that all day because nobody’s going to make that shot. You have to do a full-time recording time-lapse. I would do some crazy trade show and we had so much success at trade shows. It does work. I would do a contest of some B2C to the consumer where somebody could win sunglasses for life or a new pair every couple of years for them and two friends if they do something.
Worthy Cause
You can Google crazy corporate contest. I would do that. You will have so much fun with that. Number five, I would hook up with a worthy cause and I would model Toms Shoes. For those of you that don’t know, if you buy a pair of shoes there, Tom whose name is Blake, will donate a pair of shoes to a kid that’s never worn shoes before. People do not go to Toms Shoes to buy the shoes because they’re awesome. Some do, but most people do it because it’s the right thing to do. I would hook up with a worthy cause and study Toms Shoes and some of the best worthy causes like Barefoot Wine and how they connected with the surf riders. There are many great worthy causes out there.
User-Generated Content
Finally, I would do some form of user-generated content online. Have you ever seen how the gnome goes all over the world and people take pictures? What if you did some social club where people take pictures with your sunglasses all over the world? Somebody once a month wins a prize, a pair of sunglasses or something for shooting pictures with your sunglasses on in the most remote or craziest location. It could even be like taking showers with your sunglasses on. They swim with them or they water ski barefoot with your sunglasses on. The goal is you’re showing the world that a lot of people wear your sunglasses and that one to me, could go viral and funny. You could even have qualifications like babies wearing your sunglasses.
Number one, I would blast out samples immediately that will get an immediate increase in business. It always does. I would do the B2B route of shock-and-awe boxes to the buyers and do some homework on that. That one would be powerful. I would get a fish finder and I would prep that trade show. I would study the ten biggest buyers that are going to be there and I would read their backgrounds and their bio’s. I don’t mean the companies, but the people and the individual buyers. I’ll find out what their dreams and goals are and what makes them tick. I’ll get to know them. When they walk up to your booth, you go, “Suzy.” They go, “Who’s this?” That works. The greatest compliment in the world is being called by your first name.
I would do the fish finders. I would live in probably Las Vegas, where the biggest conventions are or whatever that town is. I would come up with a bad to the bone contest that goes viral and then I would hook up with a worthy cause because people buy on emotion, not logic. I will come up with some bad to the bone user-generated concept where they go to the social platforms of your website and show pictures of them wearing your sunglasses in the craziest of places. If you want to majorly change something, you’ve got to majorly change something. I’m hoping that helps. We will see you on the trail. Take care.
Important Links:
- Episode 61 – previous episode
- DigitalFootprint.net
- Toms Shoes
- Barefoot Wine
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