Promotions question

[Always Hungry]

Hi all......

I wasn't sure what category to put this in, so hope this is okay.

I was wondering if anyone knows of a good way to really do some good marketing/advertising out there, whether it be sites or some trade publications that are popular and have a big circulation.

I run a large portion of my Mom's gourmet product business and am juggling the role of broker, web guy, graphics, customer service, etc. I am looking to get her stuff into some
publications or newspapers or whatever else that you guys can recommend. The thing is our budget is not very big right now, and I'm trying to increase sales online to help boost sales overall (it's not easy selling food online if people haven't tried it).

Well, I hope I was clear enough. I know there are a lot of awesome people on here with lots of great things to say, so I welcome your ideas/suggestions. And if you have any questions for me or about what I do, I'd be happy to share.

Have a great day.

Rick

 

[kitchenelf]

Post moved to off topic chat. Anyone have any suggestions for Always Hungry? Have you tried the Google approach AH?

 

[ironchef]

The easiest way of course would be to get a write up in one of the local food columns about your Mom's stuff. As you probably found out, putting out ads, even in the smaller rags, costs a lot of money.

Have you guys done, or considered doing any of the Farmer's Markets? There's a good one in Hollywood where I always go to get tamales. That would be one way to get noticed. Sell your products there and bring a bunch of flyers/product lists to pass out. Offer free samples to people to help entice them to purchase more. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and if your Mom's stuff is good, you'll get noticed by the local foodie circles.

 

[Always Hungry]

The easiest way of course would be to get a write up in one of the local food columns about your Mom's stuff. As you probably found out, putting out ads, even in the smaller rags, costs a lot of money.

Have you guys done, or considered doing any of the Farmer's Markets? There's a good one in Hollywood where I always go to get tamales. That would be one way to get noticed. Sell your products there and bring a bunch of flyers/product lists to pass out. Offer free samples to people to help entice them to purchase more. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and if your Mom's stuff is good, you'll get noticed by the local foodie circles.

Hey-
We have actually done a lot of farmer's markets all over(my Mom mostly does markets up in Ventura Cty). We have been in business for over 13 years now and I've noticed that business is done a lot differently out here than back on the East Coast. Although the farmer's markets are a great way to drum up customers, it gets a lot of repeat clients and not too many new buyers (not that consistency isn't good).

On top of that, it seems like food brokers out here seem to act more like movie agents then people dealing with food (some major flakey food brokers out there). It may sound old fashioned, but I recall going to major stores and talking with the buyers. They would check out our line, request a list of products and we would shake hands to
seal the deal.

You're definitely right about the high cost of putting ads in trade publications. It seems like we've had to work 3 times as hard out here to have 1/2 the success that we had back "home". Guess it's
the nature of things.

Thanks for the responses and tips. It's much appreciated and if
I can offer anything helpful as well, I surely will.

Happy Holidays.

 

[shannon in KS]

I agree with the farmer's markets, trade shows, town festivals, fairs, etc. Networking networking networking! Get to know a few people in other states! I know several people across the country I order stuff from that other people have recommended to me and then I recommend too! I take products to work for snacks, and tell other people where I bought it and give them the address. If it is good stuff, it will "catch on"! I wanna see! I wanna see! Do you have a website?

 

[mish]

Always, I noticed you're in W. Hollywood. Have you tried the Studios and TV stations. (CBS isn't far from you, ABC on Prospect, if I recall, and NBC in Burbank.) Sometimes we/they never get out to lunch. Perhaps you could check into catering wrap parties on the lot, or bringing a cooler/basket of goodies to the offices around lunchtime to sell. Come armed with printed material to hand out (i.e. flyers) to get the word out... prices, menus for parties, food gifts etc.

Re lunch, etc. - there are many large office buildings and restaurants on Ventura Blvd. in the Valley.

If you specialize in a food product that is unique, perhaps pitch the shopping channels like HSN (based in Florida?) or QVC (based in PA?). I would check to see if you can contact the corporate offices. Perhaps you could market your product to stores (or a store exclusively) like Gelson's or Trader Joe's.

It's been a while since I did ad/pub, so check out what's going on in Hollywood/Bev Hills... restaurants that might want to buy/sell your product. Make a pitch and bring samples. Good luck and keep us posted.

Edited for a few more thoughts. Re selling lunch at office buildings, I would zip over to Century City and look at the directories, or Hollywood Blvd. (9000 Sunset Bldg? etc.).

Re print media - There used to be a pretty good throw-away/free newspaper called Entertainment weekly. Not sure if they charge for ads, might want to give them a call and study the ads.

 

[Always Hungry]

I agree with the farmer's markets, trade shows, town festivals, fairs, etc. Networking networking networking! Get to know a few people in other states! I know several people across the country I order stuff from that other people have recommended to me and then I recommend too! I take products to work for snacks, and tell other people where I bought it and give them the address. If it is good stuff, it will "catch on"! I wanna see! I wanna see! Do you have a website?

I agree with all your suggestions, Shannon. We have done all that, but it
has been more of an uphill battle since we relocated to CA. Good ideas though for sure.

My Mom's products are excellent, and I don't say that just cause she
gave birth to me. Our website is in my signature when I leave messages.
And I invite all of you to come check out our new message board that I created the other day to help have a forum for our line of products and
everything related to and about food. We're just getting started, so we're
nowhere near as diverse as Discuss Cooking, but we hope to be in the near
future.

http://lourdesgourmet.proboards80.com/


Have a great day.
Rick