Exposure, mind share and the retail channel
Monday, March 13, 2006
While I agree with the old adage, "image is everything," I also am a firm believer that exposure is everything, and then some.
Let me explain.
Mariner is a small company. Tiny compared to some. Matter of fact, we probably couldn't even fill a Microsoft conference room! And as tiny companies and startups can attest, getting mind share with your products and publicizing your company is one of toughest challenges out there.
So what do we do?
Many things but here is one example:
We have been fortunate to have some success in a few different channels. Our product line can be found not only on our web site, but also in many retail stores such as the Apple Stores, CompUSA, Office Depot, Fry's, and several others. Some day I will write about the "process" in which a small developer can get their product(s) on the shelves of these major retailers - believe me, it's _not_ a painless process. Having our products in these retail stores gives us exposure to retail buyers we never could of reached. Thousands upon thousands of potential customers put eyes on your product(s) when they are browsing the aisles of their favorite retail outlet. And while we ultimately want the guy or gal browsing the retail store to purchase our product, it's not all that bad if he/she doesn't.
Sound crazy?
Here's what I mean. If Joe Blow walks into his local Apple Store, picks us our MacJournal box, and yet doesn't buy, we still have _exposed_ a potential future buyer to our brand, our product, and the category that it fills (ex: MacJournal = journaling and blogging). The next time Joe sees an ad of ours in a magazine or passes by our booth out at the Macworld Expo, he will, if we made a good enough first impression, associate the two experiences. The more exposure to our brand, the more associations he makes, and the more Joe Blow will only think of MacJournal when he thinks about this specific category and ultimately feel confident in buying.
That's mind share and if you get it, count yourself lucky.
Mike
Let me explain.
Mariner is a small company. Tiny compared to some. Matter of fact, we probably couldn't even fill a Microsoft conference room! And as tiny companies and startups can attest, getting mind share with your products and publicizing your company is one of toughest challenges out there.
So what do we do?
Many things but here is one example:
We have been fortunate to have some success in a few different channels. Our product line can be found not only on our web site, but also in many retail stores such as the Apple Stores, CompUSA, Office Depot, Fry's, and several others. Some day I will write about the "process" in which a small developer can get their product(s) on the shelves of these major retailers - believe me, it's _not_ a painless process. Having our products in these retail stores gives us exposure to retail buyers we never could of reached. Thousands upon thousands of potential customers put eyes on your product(s) when they are browsing the aisles of their favorite retail outlet. And while we ultimately want the guy or gal browsing the retail store to purchase our product, it's not all that bad if he/she doesn't.
Sound crazy?
Here's what I mean. If Joe Blow walks into his local Apple Store, picks us our MacJournal box, and yet doesn't buy, we still have _exposed_ a potential future buyer to our brand, our product, and the category that it fills (ex: MacJournal = journaling and blogging). The next time Joe sees an ad of ours in a magazine or passes by our booth out at the Macworld Expo, he will, if we made a good enough first impression, associate the two experiences. The more exposure to our brand, the more associations he makes, and the more Joe Blow will only think of MacJournal when he thinks about this specific category and ultimately feel confident in buying.
That's mind share and if you get it, count yourself lucky.
Mike
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posted by
Michael Wray
at
7:09 AM
1 Comments:
Hey Mike,
Build a better v 2.0 mousetrap . . . If Montage is as good as it looks, you may have a world of Mac screenwriters beating a path to your door. Keep up the good work.
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