Retail: Delve into many venues

A. Ah, this is the question that everyone wants the golden answer to. In today's marketing, or as we say in Maine “mahketing,” most everyone agrees that heavy use of traditional methods like TV, print and radio do not bring the consistent results that they used to, although some campaigns can be successful. Also, although a digital marketing and social media program is an absolute must to reach today's consumer, it also can bring an inconsistent return on investment. Some campaigns are great and sometimes it seems that one is throwing money out the proverbial digital window.

I want to present two different ideas that were presented at a recent networking roundtable I attended.

First, attend a trade show of some kind, almost any kind. Obviously you would want to display products that relate to the demographic at that show, but where else can one go and get a captive audience that pays to attend an event where they can learn about items they might want to buy? Our problem with the general public is that people aren't familiar with what we carry, so whenever a consumer face time opportunity presents itself, that can only be a win. One person had a booth at an outdoor hunting and fishing show and did extremely well presenting CPAP products.

Another great way to get consumer awareness is to invest in local charity events. Not only will you give back to your community and most likely have some fun, but you will be recognized as a good corporate citizen and will be top of mind for consumers that support similar charities. Also, by hanging with people who give to charities, you will hang with potential consumers who in most cases have money to buy your products.

Jim Greatorex is president of Black Bear Medical. Reach him at jim@blackbearmedical.com.