NEWSLETTER NUMBER 1
Title: "Marketing Is More Than Selling"
We are pleased to present the very first edition of the Solve-It!
Marketing Company newsletter.
The purpose of the newsletter is to deliver practical marketing
information to inventors in an attempt to save time, money and avoid many of the mistakes
we've already made! Future newsletters (the boss says monthly) will include case
histories, new product blurbs, answers to your specific marketing problems and advice on
how to save time and money when bringing a product to market. We hope to have
something for everyone in future editions.
It may be very obvious to some, and not so to others, that marketing is
a whole lot more than just selling, and selling is a whole lot more than just making a few
phone calls. Marketing encompasses all facets of the planning required to bring a
new product to market from testing, to pricing, packaging, promoting and distributing.
While getting a product into production is no small accomplishment
(designing, engineering, financing, etc.), the real challenge ultimately becomes;
"How am I going to sell it?"
Most would agree that some elements of the marketing function should
precede production (i.e. testing the concept, prototype, pricing, etc. for consumer/buyer
reaction) but in the real world, inventors rarely pay much attention to those things.
Why? Because they know deep down in their heart of hearts that if they can
only get the invention into production, " IT WILL SELL!" No doubt
about it.
It's only after they have invested perhaps a few years worth, or all of
their savings into tooling and inventory, that the nagging doubts begin and the question
forms in their minds; "Will it sell?"
Hopefully this won't come as a shock to inventors reading this
newsletter but getting a new product into widespread distribution is very difficult, in
the best of circumstances. Without careful planning it is impossible!
We will try to improve your changes of succeeding by sharing with you
information gleaned from our experience working with inventors and their new products.
By reading through these newsletters, you may be able to approach the marketing
effort with some new tools that will help answer questions like: Who are your real
customers? What is the best way to reach them? How should the product be
priced? Packaged? Promoted? If you're just a one person show, how can
you make everything happen that needs to happen?
It all comes down to this; if you do everything right, will people want
your product? People rarely buy what they need, they buy what they want! Will
people want your product? We'll share with you ways of finding out in our next
newsletter.
Please let us have your marketing questions and comments, or
suggestions regarding our site, as they may also be helpful to others. Please also
bookmark our site and add it to your favorite places -- you may want to come back
regularly to see the new products we have to offer, to order something for yourself or as
a gift and/or to see how we can help solve your marketing problems.
This newsletter is the property of Solve-It! Marketing
Company and cannot be used or reprinted without our expressed written permission.
Our Web Address is:
www.solve-itmarketing.com