Question:
Family is starting a business selling medical uniforms. How can I market this product out there? What are some great strategies?
Answers:
Sounds like a good business into which to go!
I'm a marketing major but I don't like to tell people that. I tell them it's Business Development. So many marketing majors are a disgrace to their discipline... I don't like to identify like that :)
Okay, you wanted "great strategies?" Here's two that are worth millions of dollars! Isn't it nice that you get them for free?
#1- Make a ton of phone calls and attempt to sell uniforms!
Advertising, direct mailings, catalogues, etc. will not give you anything but frustration. On paper they're great ideas. In reality they only make things happen in certain industries. I think that in medical uniforms the only thing that advertising and promotions along those lines would bring in, is accounts payable.
Presumably you guys know stuff, like who buys them and when and why. If you don't, then find out by working for a uniform supplier. If you guys saw an ad in a magazine for some kind of "have your own business in medical uniforms!" thing then maybe it's a good deal, maybe it's not. Meet everything with due skepticism. It *is* your money after all.
Strategy #2- Keep track of your sales data. Determine how many calls it takes to generate a viable lead, and how many of those usually result in sales. (One in ten? One in three? One in forty?) With this information you can write your own ticket, or at least see where your ticket is taking you. Without you are lost at sea without a map.
Find similar data and facts, and make your decisions based on them. This can take you far. Just "winging it" can take you equally far into bankruptcy.
Bonus strategy: tomorrow is Wednesday. Go to evening church and forget about the business for a few hours. Best strategy to follow immediately!
Sounds like your family is headed into a business that has a chance to make a splash.
The success of your business is tied to how well you do in carving a niche for your business.
You might be interested in checking out http://www.small-business-ideas-branded-...
It highlights a strategic way to think about how to start a business that will attract customers.
In fact, click around the whole site. It presents a lot of strategies on how to set up a business to succeed.
Obviously your target audience is anyone in the health care field. That's a WIDE (and potentially successful) field you've chosen.
Get a listing of ALL of the hospitals, ambulance services, clinics, schools, universities, sporting associations, corrections facilities--and basically ANY place that utilizes medical personnel. Here's the challenging part: GET CONTACT NAMES from each of those places. Send an official cover letter addressed to the marketing or purchasing agent of that facility. Tell them who you are, why your products are better than everyone else's, and ask when you can get 15 minutes of their time to discuss possibilities of working with them.
Make sure you include ALL of your contact info, including your website (you NEED a website), and a nice business card (not homemade...no matter HOW fancy the paper is).
The most important part: tell them in your letter that you'll followup with a phone call in a few days. AND DO IT. Three of the biggest reasons for failure of businesses is lack of financing, lack of marketing, and failure to followup.
At some point you'll need a marketing team, but for now a marketing/PR expert will do. Look for a good person with a solid history in the field and you'll be on your way.
I wish you all the best. Would love to know how it all turns out.
If you are addressing "marketing" for online websites, then the answer is quite simple: "Marketing is prominence of one's online website on major search engines/directories since 85% of Internet surfers rely on search engines/directories for seeking and finding goods and services." Again, it's a fact that search engines/directories are the "Yellow Pages" of the Internet. And the "marketing" strategy is effective placement of metatags within webpage(s) according to search engine optimization ("SEO") algorithms. It's that simple.
Good luck!
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