Browse Category: Selling Products

We utilize our entire team to make your product a success!

 We had fun recently filming for a few of our inventor’s products! When it comes to bringing an inventor’s idea to life at Source Direct, we get everyone involved to make sure the product is a success! Your success is what motivates us! We can guide you through the process to product success! What are you waiting for? Take a chance on yourself and let the experts guide you.

Filming for AbWinder
Filming For MagScoop

 

 

What are the benefits of Social Media Marketing?

What Is Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing refers to the process of gaining traffic or attention through social media sites. Social media itself is a catch-all term for sites that may provide radically different social actions. Social networking websites allow individual, businesses and other organizations to interact with one another and build relationships and communities online. When companies join these social channels, consumers can interact with them directly.[5] That interaction can be more personal to users than traditional methods of outbound marketing and advertising.[6] Social networking sites act as word of mouth or more accurately, e-word of mouth.

Why should I use Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing can bring increased brand recognition as well as improve brand loyalty. According to a report published by Texas Tech University, brands who engage on social media channels enjoy higher loyalty from their customers. The report concludes “Companies should take advantage of the tools social media gives them when it comes to connecting with their audience. A strategic and open social media plan could prove influential in morphing consumers into being brand loyal.”.
With Social Media there are also more opportunities to convert. Every post on social media is an opportunity for customers to convert. When you build a following you’ll simultaneously have access to new customers, recent customers and old customers, and you’ll be able to interact with all of them. Interacting with your customers regularly is a show of good faith for other customers. When people go to compliment a product or service, they turn to social media. Without social media, your incoming traffic is limited to people already familiar with your brand and individuals searching for keywords you currently rank for.
The more quality content you syndicate on social media, the more inbound traffic you’ll generate, and more traffic means more leads and more conversions. Taking advantage of social media also decreases marketing costs.  According to Hubspot, 84% of marketers found as little as six hours of effort per week was enough to generate increased traffic.
Social media, at its core, is a communication channel like email or phone calls. Every customer interaction you have on social media is an opportunity to publicly demonstrate your customer service level and enrich your relationship with your customers. For example, if a customer complains about your product on Twitter, you can immediately address the comment, apologize publicly, and take action to make it right. Or, if a customer compliments you, you can thank them and recommend additional products. It’s a personal experience that lets customers know you care about them.
Social media is the best way to brand yourself and your product. Consumers are 92% more likely to trust their peers over advertising when it comes to purchasing decisions. When you are looking for a good referral who do you turn to? When you need a good deal who do you ask? You ask your peers, your friends, your acquaintances because they are the ones that can tell you about experiences they personally have had. This means that even though you may be dropping a lot of money on advertising, you still need to be setting up an active social platform. You need to be interacting with your consumers and reaching them where they hang out—on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,—because those are the places where your consumers are talking about YOU.

Check out this video for 10 Laws of Social Media Marketing

 

So, you want to license your product, eh?

We get phone calls from inventors every day – and about 60% of them say “well, I just want to license my idea. Will you buy it from me?” A majority of the time, we say no. There are a few reasons:

  1. Selling an idea isn’t as easy as it seems. Potential buyers aren’t interested in purchasing thoughts. They could hire teams of people to do that.
  2. Investors will not purchase something with no chance of return. Of course, as the inventor, you’ll have the thought process of “my product is the best”, but until an investor has seen the sales numbers, they won’t believe you.
  3. It’s difficult to license something without a prototype. Do you have a fully functioning prototype? The likeliness of an inventor selling some notes on a sheet of paper and a drawing to an investor is incredibly low.
  4. Has it been tested? Is there marketability? Will people buy this product? It’s difficult to tell unless your product has been soft-launched!

This short and sweet blog is intended to usher in some realism with new inventors. You probably won’t sell your idea unless it’s been introduced to the marketplace in some way. We suggest that you invest, yourself, into producing a small order of your product and then show investors the potential.

When you watch Shark Tank, you’ll hear the Sharks ask “how many of these have you sold so far?” Even they agree with us – buyers want to see previous milestones met before they license anything. We can help put you in the position to attract potential buyers down the road.

Interested in taking the next step? Email Nathan at Marketing@TheSourceDirect.net today and let him know you found about us on our blog!

Source Direct Product Spotlight – Poop-n-Scoop!

Spotlight On: Poop-n-Scoop

We assisted Kevin in creating the Poop-n-Scoop because it solved a problem. I’m sure you can figure out what the problem is already. Who enjoys picking up dog poop with their hands? The answer is NOBODY! Hear from Kevin below on why he invented this product:

A Note From the Inventor: This is how I came up with the idea for Poop-N-Scoop. You may have a similar story. You’re taking your dog for a walk, he or she does their business and you do the right thing by cleaning it up. Most of us will take a bag from our pocket and pick it up. This is where my story begins. The bag I used had a hole in it and much of the warm mush squeezed between my fingers. Needless to say – very disgusting. After rigorous cleaning, I set out to find a better way to clean up after my dog. Checking pet stores and online offerings, I found nothing suitable to take on walks. An idea came to me after looking at my wife’s grabber/reacher (she’s kind of short) I thought if I modified it by adding shovels, I could solve any issue. A tool that picks up poop cleanly with a bag, no more bending over, Folds in half for taking on walks, hands free clipping onto your belt and no more poop squished between my fingers. I use grocery style bags that are around my house, tool stays clean, on -and on – meeting all of my objectives! Plus, many more important reasons to clean up – we more or less have to in most areas we live – mostly environmental and some parts of our country you could pay a steep fine if you get caught not picking it up (where I live, over $200). Plus, very important, your neighbors will like you again!

Kevin Montgomery (Inventor)
Kevin Montgomery (Inventor)

Congrats! Gotta Potty is moving quick!

Hi folks – Nathan here! I am the Sales and Marketing Manager for Source Direct. When a product has finished manufacturing and is ready to hit the marketplace, it’s my job to get it listed onto different retail websites. As most inventors know, it’s quite a process to sell a BRAND NEW ITEM. Our expertise has helped us get new products into the hands of buyers from many different retail organizations – EntirelyPets.com is one of them! Congratulations to our product GOTTA POTTY for making it to the big leagues! Here’s the link to purchase it on their website: http://www.entirelypets.com/gotta-potty-training.html

entirely

Shape and Bake – it’s finally here!

When Emina Hayrula, the inventor of Shape and Bake, came to us we were immediately excited. The product was fantastic, and she trusted US to make sure it was manufactured, designed, and produced correctly.

Fast forward to March of this year – the Shape and Bake is finished! Check it out below! (click the image to see a video)

Shape and Bake

Selling Your Product Online – Best Practices!

The second that your invention has been produced, the first thing you want to do is start selling! The internet has proven to be a great place to sell products, and to many people, with very little overhead.

Here’s a few things you can try:

  • Sell on Ebay! It’s not just a place where you can sell your old junk – you can sell brand new items there!
  • Open an Amazon Seller Account. Amazon is the largest internet retailer in the United States, so obviously it’s a great place to sell!
  • Create a website for your product. You can have you own online store to just sell your product exclusively. You can use this to promote your product and avoid fees (you’ll have to handle your own shipping and logistics, however).

The key to eventually get the attention of big box stores is to show that your product sells online. You should absolutely start with selling products online – get a following and some sales and you’ll do very well in the retail marketplace. Make a SPLASH!

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