Know-How Exchange : Strategy

BTW: the web address is https://www.myenvirokid.com.

Maybe it's because I'm not in your target audience, but I would be shocked if many people searched for pvc and/or phthalate free children's products. They probably search for the primary functional benefit they want, not the ingredients they don't want.

That said, you need to tell your client that there's no free lunch. What they're asking you to do is unreasonable, and if you accept the assignment, you're going to disappoint them. They don't have any value for what you can do for them, as evidenced by their unwillingness to spend any money to achieve their objective. It's obviously not worth anything to them.

It may be time to fire this client.

Thanks Mike for a quick and candid answer. I agree that their request is unreasonable. I've had this discussion already with their VP. It's the owner of the company that basically has our hands tied. They're very old school, which is a problem. They don't have a marketing plan and seem resistant to allow their sales team (that is successfully selling their enviro leather product) to sell this product too.

And, you're right. We're changing the SEO on the site to reflect more popular search terms and will be adding a blog.

We'll put our best foot forward and at the end of the contract, we'll opt to not to renew.

Thanks again.

Patti

Thanks Jack. I too agree.

Well, this is kind of a bank shot, but you could imitate those "mall tests" ...

Take a bunch of the beanbags to a mall, a school, a YMCA, or similar venue(s) and capture product tests and testimonials from moms and kids. If you can, convince people such as fitness counselors, teachers, nurses, etc., (in addition to parents) to come to the event and queue up to try it as well. ("I'm a nurse and I think it's a great idea for keeping kids healthy. Plus, it's really comfortable, and easy to clean!")

Then, circulate the resulting edited video to bloggers and product reviewers en masse and introduce the product as a new advancement in child safety/health. Include some statistics about how the absence of such a product has had a negative impact, and include some government numbers or references if you can. (Solve a national problem.)

Also, reposition. Tell reviewers that the company is almost finished with its soft launch -- the product will make its official debut/launch on X date. This will give your story a little "breaking news" urgency and shift the reviewers' focus from "I recommend this" to "my connections tell me this is coming soon." Bloggers like to show they're insiders with advance knowledge of what's coming, so play to that instead of aiming for the impossible. You still get the awareness you need.

I'm suggesting this because you're not going to be able to circulate and retrieve and recirculate your product samples in such a short time-frame; so you have to bring the mountain to Mohammed. A hand-held camera is fine for this since you want the sense of pre-launch cinema verite. You will probably have to gift the YMCA (or whatever) with a bunch of the beanbags.

You might follow this up with an offer to each blogger on your media list for a ten-minute, one-on-one, personal phone interview with the company CEO. If he won't open his wallet, then he should be prepared to open his calendar. Book him for 30, 50, 100 interviews and then see what he thinks of the inefficiency of marketing this way. This has the added benefit, if for some reason the product doesn't move, of placing the responsibility squarely where it belongs.

You already know you can't make a gourmet feast from the budget equivalent of half a grapefruit. So, even if this should work, you still would be better off firing this client as soon as your contract allows it. You deserve a better one.

If they pay you more than $2000 for your services, then turn around and buy $2000 of their products online. ;-)

Thank you all for your helpful answers!