Promotion for new small business going online

[adejones]

Hi, just a question about how best to promote a new website for a small business that has been operating in-person and on Facebook for a couple of years, selling dog treats and personalised products/gifts.

Online shop will be launched in the next 3-4 weeks and then the business will be attending a dog show at the end of June with the usual stall, but looking at possibly giving some cards or leaflets which contains a coupon code for the website, but not sure what to actually offer which would be the best offering i.e. free shipping, a % off basket total (over £x?), a free gift or just advise customers to leave a review to enter a raffle.

What would be the best thing to do at the dog show in order to promote the business and new online presence?

Thanks.

 

[fisicx]

Will you be selling the treats at the dog show?

Can punters order their personalised products at the show?

Are your personalised products different to the products everyone else is selling?

 

[adejones]

Will you be selling the treats at the dog show?

Can punters order their personalised products at the show?

Are your personalised products different to the products everyone else is selling?

Yes the treats will be sold at the show but not the personalised items, it will just be generic items at the show, but the products are different to the other vendors/stalls.

Just trying to think of a way to use the show as a good avenue for providing some sort of incentive to visit the online shop after the show has ended.

 

[Shopclicks]

Just trying to think of a way to use the show as a good avenue for providing some sort of incentive to visit the online shop after the show has ended.

A professionally designed and printed flyer with a discount code and a QR code which links to a landing page to use the discount on your website.

 

[fisicx]

I go to all sorts of shows and buy all sorts of stuff and I don’t recall ever visiting the sellers website as a result of the show. I might visit after a Google search but that’s a different buying path.

Flyers can work. Put one in the bag when they buy the treats. But treats aren’t connected to personalised items. If I buy treats for my pets I'm not really going to be looking for an engraved collar or whatever.

But if the stall was selling personalised items and you gave me some free treats as a thank you then you could pick up lots of business.

 

[adejones]

I go to all sorts of shows and buy all sorts of stuff and I don’t recall ever visiting the sellers website as a result of the show. I might visit after a Google search but that’s a different buying path.

Flyers can work. Put one in the bag when they buy the treats. But treats aren’t connected to personalised items. If I buy treats for my pets I'm not really going to be looking for an engraved collar or whatever.

But if the stall was selling personalised items and you gave me some free treats as a thank you then you could pick up lots of business.

Thank you for the reply, that's a really interesting insight. I was originally thinking something similar but online rather than at the stall, i.e. giving any stall customers a coupon code to get free treats with any online purchase of a personalised product.

Unfortunately i'm not sure it would be possible to offer personalised products on the stall as it would need the sublimation printer, heat presses, mini oven etc and it's only a small stand.

 

[fisicx]

What are these personalised products?

People at shows often get given loads of freebies, flyers, cards and all sorts of giveaways. They aren’t generally in the market for personalised products. They can find any number of suppliers online. Giving them a coupon code won’t generally result in an online order.

Can you take orders at the show and have them delivered the next day?

 

[Mark James]

Can you not cancel the show and get your money back and use that money with a Google ad campaign so you come up top in all your keyword searches- mind the negative keywords though.

 

[fisicx]

Spoke to a friend who does doggy shows and they don’t think you will be very successful. There are hundreds of suppliers of doggy treats and even more selling personalised products online. Unless you can sell the kit on the stall on the day nobody will be interested.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Create an offer to get people to sign up for a newsletter and on first repeat purchase.
Create a leaflet and add it to bag at least.

Give away something if stall visitors sign up for the newsletter.

Give away something if someone follows you on SM

Create a SM campaign 'we have created these new treats and are giving 100 away for reviews.... just pay £x for delivery!' (actually 'give' as many as you can away, ensuring you cover products and postage in the delivery cost).

These will help build an audience.

 

[fantheflames]

Having worked at expos previously, making things more complicated on the day can be stressful. You want a straight-forward plan. Offering the personalised products would be much better, but I can see why it might not be feasible. Why not incorporate it into your raffle/competition?

You could create a campaign that's centred on creating your own personalised product or gift basket? Make it interactive and fun on the day, and get people involved on your website on the day. Most people will check your website and products at the event, not after, I'd try to utilise the time you have as creatively as possible!

That way, you can data capture as well! Having two or three tablets on your stall would work nicely with some signage on what's on offer! It also makes your stall stand out. It can be easy to miss dozens of stalls if they don't look interesting.

It's a little bit of an investment, but you can re-use the campaign on other events.

 

[fantheflames]

I think little taster bags would be great also!

 

[Mark T Jones]

What is your 'angle' here?

It's a crowded & mature market - but like all markets there are avenues and niches to explore. Simply trying to pitch in and compete will burn your budget in no time.

Several years ago I met the founder of this company https://tribalpets.com/uk/. Apart from being a scientist (so jolly clever), she had 100% clarity on the vision and the positioning of the business. Including building a 'tribe' of followers (geddit?).

For every Fatima there are 100 who disappear, not because of the product, but because they don't have a clear focus.

 

[MarketingQuote]

I think little taster bags would be great also!

Sounds like a great idea, some little taster bags as a kind of promotional gift with a business card attached.

This is a super competitive market so baby steps and the personal touch.

 

[NickZ]

Can you not cancel the show and get your money back and use that money with a Google ad campaign so you come up top in all your keyword searches- mind the negative keywords though.

So he can get a credit and burn 800 pounds instead of the 400 he initially had to invest?
Dog show and events are often more effective than the odd Google campaign. Its not 2010 any more.
Google Adwords came down from a 53% conversion rate to a below 10% Rate. That thanks to the acceptance of any website regardless if fraud or legit.

The average cost per lead went up and the conversion rate went down. In short next to useless.
wordstream.com/blog/ws/2023/05/15/google-ads-benchmarks
wordstream.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/google-ads-benchmarks-year-over-year.jpg

 

[Mark James]

If you think shows are the best solution to his problem of getting more online exposure for his website then crack on Nick - personally I would say being in the top 5 on a Google search for the keywords your clients are targeting would be a better way but that’s just me.

 

[NickZ]

If you think shows are the best solution to his problem of getting more online exposure for his website then crack on Nick - personally I would say being in the top 5 on a Google search for the keywords your clients are targeting would be a better way but that’s just me.

Google gives you numbers of worthless clickers.
We are not in 2010 anymore. For his business he needs clients, why should he care about 300 Visitors who won't buy a product?

 

[fisicx]

Google gives you numbers of worthless clickers.
We are not in 2010 anymore. For his business he needs clients, why should he care about 300 Visitors who won't buy a product?

If that’s happening he is doing it wrong. The more niche the higher the conversions and lower the costs. When I run the occasional campaign I can get up to 60% conversions.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Meanwhile, back at the thread, the OP was looking for ideas on shows, not random opinions on PPC

 

[Mark James]

---

Actually Mark if you re read his opening gambit he is asking how to get people to basically visit his website and advice on his online presence. I think anyone would agree (except Nick) that appearing top or near top on page 1 for your keywords associated to what/where your selling would be pretty key.

Two ways to do this - SEO and optimising your site for Organic listings or pay google to slice through that and whoosh your away- of course you need to manage your google ad campaign to make sure you don’t waste click throughs as fisicx said but that’s basically the top and bottom of it.

I have had 2 six figure consecutive businesses based purely on this method. And now I implement AI into the SEO my site visits have nearly doubled.

If you know a better way please share.

 

[NickZ]

When I run the occasional campaign I can get up to 60% conversions.

Sure as you fit in Google's tactics, keeping old clients happy and squeeze new ones.
Why do you think we have now google merchant, Why do you think Google has offed the 10 places SERP?

To do us a favor?