[TheForge] Re: Pure Iron Truck Specials.

Fri Aug 23 10:09:00 2002

Mike, I'm assuming your computer belched ;-)

I/we, really do wish you well, and I think we'd all like to see PI stay
around. I think we all need to brainstorm, see what we can do to help.

For a start, what industries are eating up the PI in France? And, has there
been successful marketing of the product beyond the borders? If so, to who?
Gotta get you out of the box.....

Phlip

----- Original Message -----
From: <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, August 23, 2002 9:50 AM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Re: Pure Iron Truck Specials.

> In a message dated 8/21/2002 10:25:51 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> [email protected] writes:
>
>
> > Mike, I was discussing this at Pennsic, with other smiths, and I think
there
> > is a consensus that the marketing was not optimal. I think you hoped for
> > too
> > much, with too little effective effort (notice I'm not saying you didn't
> > put
> > a lot of effort into it, it's just that I think it was not necessarily
> > directed as effectively as it might have been).
> >
> >     Mike, I think Phlip makes a very good point here.  Marketing will
often
> >     determine success or failure.  If you guys are not born- or trained
and
> >     experienced marketeers, you may well have expended a whole lot of
time
> >     and energy for nothing in terms of results.  A large company would
do a
> >     thorough market analysis before going into an endeavor such as this,
> > but
> >     you're already there.  An analysis might not be a bad idea at this
> > point.
> >     You have a lot of sweat devoted to this and to simply drop it
without
> >     full konwledge of the potential would be a shame.  It could be that
an
> >     analysis will reveal that there just isn't a market strong enough to
> >     support this sort of thing.  Or it may say there is a very good
> > potential
> >     market if the product is properly promoted.  If that be the case,
then
> > it
> >     would behoove you, assuming the interest and desire remain, to hire
a
> >     marketing firm that would build and launch a campaign.  This would
take
> >     money, but as the old saying goes (and it's not universally true in
my
> >     experience) "you have to spend money to make money".  In this case I
> >     feel the addage is accurate.
> >
> >     This is a material intensive business and stuff on the shelf is
eating
> >     into profits.  You want to move product as quickly as possible.
Your
> >     pricing may be wrong, or you may not be getting your message to the
> > real
> >     professional in a manner that will generate the sales you're looking
> > for.
> >     For example, you cannot rely on the blacksmiths to  carry the
business.
> >     We all know what a stingy bunch many of us can be.  Until I got poor
as
> >     a sewer rat, I was atypical in that I was not afraid to spend money
on
> >     materials and machinery, but that is uncommon amongst us.  I suspect
> > you
> >     need to have at least one prong of a good marketing campaign aimed
> > squarely
> >     at the architects and designers.  Such a campaign needs to play on
them
> > at
> >     many levels, such as purity, exclusivity, durability, beauty, etc
and
> > so on.
> >     Hammer at them the virtues of PI and why it is to their advantage to
> > demand
> >     this material be used in their decorative ironwork.  The smiths have
no
> >     choice but to comply.  The price is added into the job, but the
labor
> > may
> >     be a bit less, or possibly even a lot less and it is the labor that
> > costs.
> >     Cost of material is usually trivial in comparison to labor, but many
> > smiths
> >     cannot see past what they perceive as high material cost.  It's a
> > myopic
> >     view and so you have to take the decision out of their hands and
place
> > it
> >     into those that carry the cash.
> >
> >     The way these tings work out, is once they get used to the pricing
and
> > become
> >     more familiar with the properties... when they realize that an
errant
> > hammer
> >     blow at the last minute is far less likely to wreck a piece, causing
> > further
> >     loss of time and material, the price issue should go away, but you
have
> > to
> >     get the trend going first.
> >
> >     The other prong of the marketing attack should go right to the
consumer
> > and
> >     it should go in nice glossy magazines with the right photos and ad
copy
> > that
> >     explains to the end consumer precisely why pure iron is what they
want.
> >  Play
> >     on the mystique, beauty, durability... get some ass kicking photos
that
> > show
> >     the warm, smooth textures of PI... you have to have the wallets
> > creaming in
> >     their jeans for something made of this, whether it be a railing,
> > furniture or
> >     a fine art piece.  Show mixed media pieces, perhaps something that
has
> > been
> >     enameled.  Maybe some of the guys could do a few high art pieces
that
> > you could
> >     have photo access to in exchange for some material.  One hand washes
> > the other
> >     and all that. You basically have to wag the dog, and it can most
> > certainly
> >     be done, but it takes cashola.
> >
> >     It seems to me that you have put entirely too much effort into this
> >     endeavor just to walk away.  Your marketing, while noble in terms of
> >     enthusiam, heart, and effort, may not possess the polished power
that
> >     it probably needs in order to make PI a household name.  That would
> >     require non-trivial capital, but if there is indeed an untapped
market
> >     of sufficient mass, and if you still love this product and the whole
> > idea
> >     behind it, then I think you'd all be acting prematurely in walking
away
> >     without at least looking into a professional marketing effort.
> >
> >     If you have such an analysis done and put together a good business
> > plan,
> >     you can get some pretty serious funding in the way of small business
> > loans
> >     and all that.  Most markets are don't exist until someone creates
it.
> >     The job of the marketeer is to let the buying public know what they
are
> >     missing and just how badly they need what you have to offer.  This
is
> >     the way it's done in the serious world of business and if you decide
> > you
> >     are also determined, I'd bet you could do it too, all other things
> > being
> >     equal.
> >
> >     These are just my random thoughts on the topic.  Whatever you
decide, I
> >     wish you all the best.  You certainly made a very good faith effort
and
> >     I like PI a whole lot and will be sorry to see it go.
> >
> > I think you need to look beyond your intended usages, essentially for
the
> > home smith, and think how this might be of interest for other
applications.
> > The magnetic thing was a start, but who else might use it?
> >
> >     You are right on the money.
>
> Oh!
>
>
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