Hi Again lot-ga :)
I've decided to go ahead and post an answer even though I requested a
couple of clarifications (I posted them very early this morning so
unlikely that you would have had a chance to see them yet). The
reason I've gone ahead with this answer is mainly because I believe it
will provide you with enough information to get you going with respect
to your initial query - as with any Google Question, you can always
request a further clarification and/or rate the answer accordingly :)
As I commented before, you seem to have a great product! With such a
competitive market and so many people and businesses looking for easy,
"one stop" solutions, you may just be on to a winner! I note that you
appear to be based in the UK, so this question will focus on UK-based
suggestions. I've also assumed that you are concered with ultimately
targeting retail (i.e. general public) end users although I believe
that the information I've provided will assist with targeting
corporates as well as retail outlets (such as PC World, whose customer
base will consist of retail consumers).
being the general retail public.
With respect to your question regarding the sales and marketing of
your product, found at http://www.itele.info, please find my comments
as follows:
1. find ones (i.e. sales/marketing agencies) who have dealt with
Dixons, PC World, John Lewis etc.
I did a pretty extensive search with respect to sales and marketing
agencies specialising in retail marketing and list my results below. I
would re-iterate that given your (self confessed) lack of knowledge
re: retail marketing, it would be preferable to at least have an
initial consultation with one of these types of firms - in particular,
you would be advised at to ask them what they can do as far as
providing say, an initial retail strategy plan, as part of their
package as this will be your key marketing document moving forwards.
You need a focused retail marketing plan - as part of your marketing
has already been done in the sense that your product incorporates, for
example, CD content, I think that most agencies would see this as a
bonus with respect to assisting you with your retail marketing
endeavours.
Ogilvy: very well known agency with an international presence
including a specific UK presence - although they tend to deal
primarily with large corporate marketing strategies (
http://www.ogilvy.co.uk/ ), have a look at their subsidiary Ogilvy One
who tend to deal with more retail orientated clientele (
http://www.ogilvy.co.uk/o_one/what_flash.asp )
Guava - a marketing agency based in Berkshire
( http://www.guava.co.uk/index.html ) who appear to have quite an
impressive client base ( http://www.guava.co.uk/clients.html and who
state that "guava's client base covers virtually all industry sectors
from property to finance and software to automobiles".
Retail Marketing Solutions - marketing specialist based in Poole
( http://www.retail-marketing-solutions.co.uk/ ) who deal specifically
with major retailers (i.e. the types of people you are hoping to sell
your product through). In particular, have a look at their link
specifying their expertise in retail marketing
( http://www.retail-marketing-solutions.co.uk/retail.html ) where they
state that "Major Retailers need strong strategic marketing skills to
support the brand, and counter the effect of the many thousands of
decentralised
decisions which impact on key brand attributes daily".
Martec International: a company offering market research, strategy,
analysis and partner identification, an excerpt from their website
( http://www.martec-international.com/C08/C08B.htm )states "As
specialists in retailing and the retail segment we have many retail
resources". In particular, they have a database of UK retailers and
suppliers including sample database entries at
http://www.martec-international.com/C04/C04G.htm and their
client list also includes potential distributers for your product
(e.g. Woolworths, Tescos, Virgin, etc.).
Once you contact these agencies, you really should specifically ask
them to supply you with a list of their clients - as a business trying
to get your business, they should offer to do this free of charge. In
fact, most companies, particularly the larger ones such as Guava and
Ogilvy, will offer an initial consultation free but always ask FIRST
and get them to confirm it in writing before setting up the meeting!
2. evaluate them - as suggested by my paragraph immediately above, the
only really way that you can only evaluate them by meeting them or
asking for references - I did do a search specifically for evaluations
and recommendations of leading sales and marketing agencies
specialising in retail services (google.co.uk search terms: evaluation
sales and marketing; recommend retail sales and marketing) but didn't
find anything that would offer specific advice. What I did find were
a selection of sales and marketing sites which may assist in helping
you to further evaluate the type of agency that you want to bring on
board.
MAD.co.uk - a good portal site listing, in particular, marketing
publications and their links. Quite often, these publications will
publish stories or articles evaluating the performance of sales
agencies.
http://www.mad.co.uk/info/publications.asp
British Services: this site, found at
( http://www.britishservices.co.uk/marketing.htm ) includes many
marketing and PR links and resources re: UK sales and marketing
(including links to the Market Research Society and Marketing
Council). In particular, you should have a look at the Marketing
Council's website at http://www.marketingcouncil.org/ as they have a
wide range of information available.
DVisions.co.uk: an international online marketing agency which
includes a 997.
good list of useful links including online marketing resources and
recommended reading.
http://www.dvisions.co.uk/links.htm
3. best method to present the product to and engage with them
(preferably for equity or factoring) - again, after an extensive
search, I couldn't find any sites specific to your query re:
presenting your products and engaging with the agencies as such but,
given that your product appears to be innovative, you can use that as
an initial approach strategy (e.g. you can propose working in
partnership with them by offering to put their marketing expertise
onto your product for say, a discount on any marketing services that
they provide to you (see, for example, Retail Marketing Solutions
website re: partnership solutions at
http://www.retail-marketing-solutions.co.uk/solutns.html).
Specifically with respect to equity and factoring, a starting point
would probably be the example used above i.e. you could propose using
your product to assist with their business - in any case, you need to
ask them directly if they are open to such a proposal - its not the
sort of thing that you can find on any website.
Additionally, another resource that may be able to assist you with
your third query may be your local Chamber of Commerce. I don't know
where you are based but, as an example, I've listed a selection of
some Chamber of Commerce sites and the types of information that they
provide. You can see from the search parameters that I've used that
to find your local Chamber of Commerce, it's just a matter of typing
in your area with the "Chamber of Commerce" search term to identify
your potential Chamber of Commerce site. I think local chamber of
commerce departments are probably one of the most under-utilised
resources in the UK - many local chamber of commerce sites offer free
consultations and highly relevant assistance to local business with
respect to finance, marketing, sales - in fact, pretty much any area
of business you can think of, so it is really worth you finding out
who your local chamber of commerce is and what services they offer.
British Chamber of Commerce: http://www.chamberonline.co.uk/
To get a real flavour for what this site offers in respect to your
query, go to
go to business centre>sales and marketing on their site
( http://www.chamberonline.co.uk/cmn/res/index.jsp?cat=sl) and have a
look at the resources that they offer
London Chamber of Commerce: http://www.londonchamber.co.uk/
In particular, they have a section called "Answering your business
questions" at http://www.londonchamber.co.uk/viewarticle.asp?AreaID=20&SubAreaID=&PageID=123&ElementID=127&ArticleID=4&Comment=
) and also
offering business advice clinics (which I believe are free but you
should doublecheck)
Suffolk Chamber of Commerce: http://www.suffolkchamber.co.uk/ - very
detailed site with reports, links, resources - they also operate a
business enterprise scheme which involves loads of business
networking.
Sheffield Chamber of Commerce: http://www.scci.org.uk/ - as for the
other chamber of commerce sites, this site offers information,
representation and a diary of networking events
Other suggestions: One personal recommendation that I would make is to
get a hold of a copy of the EXCELLENT book "Getting Business To Come
To You" by by Paul and Sarah Edwards (Amazon in the UK stock it -
http://www.amazon.co.uk ).
Although the book is mainly for self-employed people, it provides a
remarkable diverse source of information regarding sales and marketing
that can be adopted by businesses as well as self-employed people.
Finally, for your future reference, I've listed the search terms (with
links) used whilst undertaking this research. In particular, you
should have a look at the UK Yellow Pages listings which have at least
6 pages of sales and marketing agencies based in the UK. Should you
require any further help or clarification, please don't hesitate to
ask.
:) jem-ga
google.co.uk
search term: UK retail marketing specialists
://www.google.co.uk/search?q=UK+retail+marketing+specialists&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF8&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&meta=cr%3DcountryUK%7CcountryGB
search term: marketing resources UK
://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF8&q=marketing+resources+UK&btnG=Google+Search&meta=cr%3DcountryUK%7CcountryGB
search term: chamber of commerce
://www.google.co.uk/search?q=chamber+of+commerce&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF8&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&meta=cr%3DcountryUK%7CcountryGB
UK yellow pages (http://search.yell.com/search/DoSearch)
search term: marketing and advertising
http://search.yell.com/search/DoSearch?screen=VAL&state=AMB&companyName=&businessType=MARKETING+%26+ADVERTISING+CONSULTANTS&location=&Searchbutton=Search |
