Help. I need to reach a certain target market and need ideas. I make memory bears (teddy bears made from special clothing items). Most of my business comes when someones passes away. Word of mouth advertising has been good but i need to step things up and need to market/advertise more. Any ideas on how to advertise to those that have just suffered a loss of a loved one. I am not trying to profit on their loss, I am trying to bring a little comfort into thier lives instead. I have brochures at several local funeral homes but have not had much of a response from them. Any ideas would be great. My web site is www.createtreasures.com. Web traffic is steady but not enough.


Thanks for your help. Shannon

Hi Shannon,

I just viewed your website and those bears are remarkable. This is definitely a God-given,inspired idea. I would suggest that you target family members who are not the immediate family member of the deceased. Their thoughts would be a lot clearer and the appeal could be for them to offer it as a gift in lieu of flowers. So my marketing strategy or tag line would be something to this effect: "Memory Bears - the gift that keeps your loved one's legacy alive in your heart."

Just taking a stab at it. Hope this helps.

Sheila Campbell
www.scripturaldelights.com

>Help. I need to reach a certain target market and need
>ideas. I make memory bears (teddy bears made from special
>clothing items). Most of my business comes when someones
>passes away. Word of mouth advertising has been good but i
>need to step things up and need to market/advertise more. Any
>ideas on how to advertise to those that have just suffered a
>loss of a loved one. I am not trying to profit on their loss,
>I am trying to bring a little comfort into thier lives
>instead. I have brochures at several local funeral homes but
>have not had much of a response from them. Any ideas would be
>great. My web site is www.createtreasures.com. Web traffic
>is steady but not enough.
>
>
>Thanks for your help. Shannon

Maybe it's just me, but the remember the dead guy idea is kind of creepy. That may be part of why you're not flying with this great idea. Get out of the coffins and come into the land of the living...

I would certainly target the remember that special day bears: christening bears, wedding bears, first birthday bears, retirement bears, etc.

Tina Brooks, VP Marketing
Brooks Pepperfire Foods, Inc.
Makers of Peppermaster Hot Sauces
http://www.peppermaster.com

Eat more peppers!

Tina,

I guess that's why you are VP of Marketing. Good ideas as an addition to her brand.

Sheila Campbell
www.scripturaldelights.com

>Tina,
>
>I guess that's why you are VP of Marketing. Good ideas as an
>addition to her brand.
>
>Sheila Campbell
>www.scripturaldelights.com
>
>

Thank you. I really believe she should run with them.

Tina Brooks, VP Marketing
Brooks Pepperfire Foods, Inc.
Makers of Peppermaster Hot Sauces
http://www.peppermaster.com

Eat more peppers!

Maybe it's just me, but the remember the dead guy idea is kind of creepy. That may be part of why you're not flying with this great idea. Get out of the coffins and come into the land of the living...

I would certainly target the remember that special day bears: christening bears, wedding bears, first birthday bears, retirement bears, etc.


Along those same lines...
create a line reusing wedding gowns as christening bears or as "after the fact" gifts for flower girls. Market them through bridal salons

Christine
the Wedding Diva

http://thinklikeabride.com
http://thinklikeabride.blogspot.com

Many towns have church/synagogue bulletins. A descriptive classified ad would work well. If there are business expo's in your area, I would suggest that you participate in them. Also, your local "Pennysaver," or other classified newspaper. You'd be surprised at the responses you can get. You might also want to join your local Chamber of Commerce/leads club. What about flyers or brochures in local children's daycare locations, restaurants and ice cream parlors targeted for children (of course, their parent's take them there) where a portion of their " blankie" can be part of their personalized bear. Targets can also include bridal showers, Sweet 16's and other birthdays. You need to get to know your community to reach your community.;)

Another partnership/joint venture opportunity would be flower shops and other gift shops - online or locally.

And if your website conversion is good but your traffic is low, you could use Pay Per Click ads to increase the traffic and the revenue you generate.

Rebecca

>Another partnership/joint venture opportunity would be flower
>shops and other gift shops - online or locally.
>
>And if your website conversion is good but your traffic is
>low, you could use Pay Per Click ads to increase the traffic
>and the revenue you generate.
>
>Rebecca

This is a great idea... some florists could offer the ability to incorporate the bears in their floral arrangements too.

Tina Brooks, VP Marketing
Brooks Pepperfire Foods, Inc.
Makers of Peppermaster Hot Sauces
http://www.peppermaster.com

Eat more peppers!

I'm really taken with your concept. I would be happy to suggest it to my customers as a memory of their loved one.
As said earlier, please don't limit yourself to the "past" memory. Create some bears and bunnies that will promote future memories. For instance: going away to college, starting a new job, any occasion that could be difficult, where you need a little someone to walk with you along the way.

Holly Milburn
The Finishing Touch Florist
Crete, Illinois
800-866-4749
Work hard, Play hard and take time to smell the flowers!

Shannon:

I just took a look at your site and it is absolutely beautiful.

I am new to marketing my business myself, and so my remarks are certainly not to be taken as a professional opinion, but just some of my thoughts.

I think you need to ramp up the "energy" behind your bear's names, i.e. instead of "Flag Bear" try "The Patriot." Or, "Patriotic Bear," or "American Bear."

The little bear with the camaflouge ought to be FLYING off the shelves right about now; and maybe that's where you should start.

The war is such a heavy subject in the media and on the minds of almost all Americans, and to capitalize on such a strong, important theme should net you some amazing results.

I'd look at organizations such as the Veterans Administration and other organizations that provide "care packages" and "welcome home" committees to our service men and women. See if they can provide you with some suggestions for how to reach military families; maybe you can even ask for the name of the service man or woman and add that name to your bear's uniform via a velcro patch or something along those lines. Same thing for the newborn "Pretty In Pink" bear. Get names of the newborn and find a way to add that to the bear: Stitched into the garment, a "birth certificate" - something to personalize your product. Find out how best to approach the hospital gift shops. Find out of the V.A. has gift shops and approach them the same way about your miliary bear. Same thing with the "Married By Morning" bear....approach wedding planners, caterers, chapels, etc.

Do you have a business plan? There are "Angel Networks" out there that will pump some cash into your business, that can help you to take a marketing course or, expand your current marketing process. Same thing with grant money.

The library is one of the most rich yet often the most under utilized deposit source in America. Since starting my business, I can not tell you the doors that have opened in my mind, my heart and in my spirit concerning my business. I am already able to visualize unlimited income earning potential, and now I am sitting down with myself and formulating a plan of action, a business plan and several marketing plans.

Ask your librarian a question and you may be pleasantly surprised at the answer. If she doesn't already have an answer in her head, she usually has one at her fingertips. (Ask her about the Foundation Directory....hopefully they have it on-line and you won't have to pay to use it, or use the big, bulky print version - if they still have that on their shelves).

Get on the Women's Business Enterprise National Council, www.microenterpriseworks.org/state. Also, your local, Small Business Administration may be an ideal place to begin.

What I'm trying to say is - there is help out there....just get more aggressive in seeking it out. The hard part of your business is done. The product is ready, appealing and something that everyone can relate to. Work on a business plan, a marketing plan and get to networking. Who knows? You may just end up on Oprah!

God speed.....I'm expecting you to succeed!

Mary@: www.Dee2Travel.com
and www.Dee2Travel.info

This is a very unique business.
You may want to try developing relationships with gift stores and flower shops as this may be a more opportune time.

Daryl Des Marais
http://www.usabusinessgrowth.com

Don't know if you know this but Mexican's celebrate the 2nd of November as "Dia de los Muertos" or in English day of the dead. Not sure how close you are to Mexico even BUT all over the country they have stands outside of the cemeteries as it is a BIG day (like a fair type of event). I know Mexican's in the US continue to celebrate this day.

Try checking out a few Catholic churches where they have Spanish services would be an idea to post a flyer.

Getting to these events would be a great way to promote your business as well if you live close to a border.

:-)

a good idea is that most people have baby blanlets fron thier childhood, they would be a great way to sell. taking peoples blankets and having them made into teddy bears.

just a thought

If you are talking about offline advertising. There are lots of things you could be doing that are inexpensive. I would make up some flyers and put them on windshields. You can go to Vista Print Online and they give you free items such as business cards which you could make drop cards from them. They give you a free car magnet and advertise in local thrifty nickle papers etc. Going to the funeral homes are great but you will get more targeted responses from the public. Hope this helps.