Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Any advice from StartUpNation participants would be greatly appreciated!  I`m not sure if my sales problems are related to product, message, targets, or marketing venues - or all!

 

I started www.cartopcamper.com with the grand illusion of changing the way Americans travel.   I mean, roof tents are my solution to cheap and comfortable weekend road trips, why wouldn’t they work for everybody?  I have been trying to tell (and sell) America about my discovery using a variety of media.  I’m learning that an expensive ($900 incl shipping) unproven, low visibility, and evidently small niche product is a tough product to sell through the web.  My next approach is to personally display these roof tents in public venues.   

Here is what I’ve learned about eMarketing since July 07:

 

Website

I use GoDaddy.com. Cost: Deluxe Hosting - Linux - 2 years   $134.15.  No complaints, I mean you’ve gotta have a wesite, right?  I like to tools and dependability provided by GoDaddy.com.  I use PayPal to process payments.

 

Multiple URLs

I can host many URLs under my one account.  Each new domain costs about $20 for two years.  I thought by registering several similar domains, I might increase my chances of being found on a search engine.  The jury is  still out on this.  GoDaddy’s statistics reports do say I’m getting referrals from these sites – but I’m not sure this is worth the money. Total cost $200.

 

Postcard marketing

I use Postcardbuilder.com.  I upload my own full color images (or could use theirs) for front and back.  They handle everything from printing, addressing, through delivery. Cost is maybe 61 cents a card.  I bought two small direct mail lists from InfoUSA.com.  One list was 200  ‘outdoor enthusiast consumers’ and the other 200 ‘SUV auto dealers’.  Waste of money.  Very little resulting web traffic - maybe 2?  Only one call from 400 targets - but this prospect did BUY!  Gross profit was $250. Cost was about  $400.  Bummer.

 

Email to ‘opt in’ recipients.

I scraped email addresses from forums and newsgroups affiliated with outdoor camping, offroad vehicles etc.  I also bought about 20 million non-targeted’ email addresses from a (reputable?)  email service.  I mailed my  own emails from about 20 different email addresses I set up from my various URLs.  My email server only allows about 500 messages per email account – so I sent maybe 10,000 emails.  I did this on three occasions and included the necessary opt out language.  This resulted in many hits to my website (to me 200 new downloaded pages/day is a success).  Opt out requests and interested leads were about equal at about 10 each per mailing.  Also got a couple of really angry people complaining about spam – so I stopped this.  Total cost $50. No sales.

 

Publicity releases

I used the free PR.com to release a couple of newsy-sales stories about roof tents.   I did not receive any direct leads from this, although my site became easier to find on Google.  Side benefit is I can link to these stories from my site.  Total cost $0 – no sales.

 

Craigslist & Recycler advertising

Cost is right –free.  But no sales or known leads.

 

Search Engine Optomization – homebrewed

I looked up everything I could find for free about making my website(s) more search-engine friendly.  So far I am not yet listed on the first page of Google for a search for ‘roof tent’ – which is my benchmark for success.

 

Google Adwords – Yahoo ‘Sponsored Search’. 

This has become a game for me.  For both venues I refuse to pay more than 10 cents per click.  My list of keywords now hoovers near 2000 – however only about 300 are active due to my desire to cap at 10 cents per click.  Still, compared to postcard mailers which cost me about $133 per ‘click’, the cost is reasonable.  My website traffic is directly proportional to my daily budget (which is currently set at the lowball $1/day!)  By having such a low budget, I am forced to use only high ‘click through rate’ (CTR) keywords – like ‘roof top tent’ and ‘car top tent’ and ‘roof tent’ etc.   I am still learning, but right now I think this will be my marketing venue of choice.  Total cost so far: $80 – toal Click Throughs:  400?

 

eBay

I’ve run 5 ads on eBay and have had two sales.  Cost of  eBay ads about $100 – PayPal comissions another $90 so my net profit was maybe $200 for the two sales.

 

Customer referral program

I know that when my customers set up their roof tents, they will be answering a lot of questions.  I offered my customers a private sub URL to refer new customers.  My customer will get a $100 referral fee, and their referred customer will get a $25 discount by ordering off of the referral page.  So far, 1 out of 3 customers has requested this to be set up, and I’ve not received any referrals yet.

 

• Total marketing expenses so far (including websites) :  $1100 (est)   
• Total profit: $750
• Net loss: $350

Next phase - demonstration of product

My plan is to show the roof tent at a popular weekend outdoor marketplace in Costa Mesa California called the Orange County Marketplace.  I did this for a product market test several years ago – cost was $45/day per space.  I needed two spaces as this was a new travel trailer design (told you  this was a passion!) 

 

I’m having a little trouble with the operators of this venue right now.  I want to test market acceptance of the roof tent for one or two weekend days for $45/day.  Management however wants to classify me as a ‘furniture reseller’ (!?) and charge my $100/day with a four-consequtive weekend minimum commitment.  I’m trying to fight this classification – to bring them back to charging me the same $45/day they charge people that sell socks.  We’ll see.

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Get your life back ... Getaway Every Weekend!
Go anywhere, but sleep comfortably
in a room with a view for the top of your car.
www.CarTopCamper.com

Yes, something this large and bulky is NOT going to sell well over the internet.

If I were you, I would actually back this all up .... and go an entirely different route. Is there a reason you chose to do this online instead of going through retailers to sell them?

In terms of costs ... $100 a day, if you only sell 1, is still a profit. Heck, even better is if you can have a car in there to demo this thing. I think that is the problem with the website for me ... I am trying to figure out how in the world I`m going to sleep comfortably while dangling over the side of my car. Your website is not doing nearly enough and I am scared to ask how much you are blowing on every sale with PayPal fees.


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That PHP Girl
Small Business Essentials
Latest Post on SUN: New Facebook Pages - First Impressions

I think you want to find out exactly who your target audience is, figure-out where they get their news and information on topics related to your product, and try getting some meaty, substantive articles placed in those publications/media outlets. This will take some time, research, and multiple press releases sent to targeted reporters and editors with follow-up calls, but the rewards are incredible. I would imagine camping magazines, websites, etc. for starters, then local publications where you are located to build momentum. Find out where some campgrounds are that people can use your product, and try to get some coverage in the local press in those areas. The campgrounds, if mentioned in the article, will clip the article and post it/distribute it/promote it to their visitors and talk you up. You may even want to consider doing a demo at a campground or two for local media outlets, free publicity for the campground and you as well.

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www.menziesconsulting.com

I think that your PR suggestions would work great as an awareness campaign, but I don`t think people buy these kinds of things on the internet. (I could be wrong.) I think they go down to REI or Big 5 or outdoors shows and buy them there. So yeah, create awareness ... but also make it easier for customers to get and install these things.

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That PHP Girl
Small Business Essentials
Latest Post on SUN: New Facebook Pages - First Impressions

These are excellent suggestions.  I haven`t reached out to stores yet because I use a drop shipper.  My fear is that stores will just go direct to my supplier.  My hope is to build enough volume to justify importing these directly.  I also don’t know if these units will meet store turnover requirements (I thought I’d have a clearer idea of demand by now.)

Regarding Paypal/eBay selling fees… On a $1017 transaction (tent + shipping + tax) PayPal fess run about $30.  EBay ‘final value ‘fees are about $26 and listing fees are about $10.  I think these are reasonable, considering the simplicity implementing these services.

I am convinced that I need to personally demonstrate these tents.  Many people probably reflect your ‘dangling over side of my car’ comment.  It looks precarious, but remove the ladder and the floor drops max 4 inches.  The mattress is very comfortable, and the tent feels spacious. I need to address this better on the website and in my eBay ads. 

When I set up the tent at the beach to take pictures, several people came over from the boardwalk to ask about it and where they could get more info.  I didn’t have a website then, so I lost those opportunities.

My target audience right now is off roaders – 4wd enthusiasts.  Two sales were to off roaders (one mounting the tent on a small off road trailer).  The third sale was to a forestry ranger.

I’ll work on the PR angles, particularly since you both believe this is a viable. 

Thanks again for your advice, and more importantly for responding.  I am a one-man show trying to promote a product few people understand - it feels a little isolated sometimes.   -cd

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Get your life back ... Getaway Every Weekend!
Go anywhere, but sleep comfortably
in a room with a view for the top of your car.
www.CarTopCamper.com

Hi,`

If you were at a location and didn`t have any way to give them more information, I think you just pointed out one of the problems.  Maybe you need some print material, like brochures, or a flier with product and ordering information..  Also, if you are able to do shows where you can demonstrate the CarTopCamper, look into getting a portable credit card machine so you can take their orders right then. I think people need to see how it works.

Best of luck,

Janie

A client of mine engineered and manufactures a soft top for 30s-era Street Rods. They achieve the best results at car shows.  Typically sharing vendor space with one of their dealers and have a demo on-site; and generally a couple of cars in the show with the top.  We are currently revamping all their sales material and website now that they`ve gone beyond the "start-up" phase.  For your Car Top Camper, I suggest attending as many camping/rv/hunting consumer-based shows at possible to demonstrate your product.  And, begin to work with smaller outlets to develop a dealer network.  Contact with the larger outlets like REI will come and you should definitely continue to pursue; but you never know who you may meet at a show.  I agree with the above comments that having a well-written and designed brochure about the benefits of your product is essential.  A good away item may also be in order...  mini flashlight, long-nose lighter, rain slicker  - something related to camping and branded with your logo.

Joann







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Joann Sondy
Creative Aces
Designing visual communications to enhance your company & its story.

Here is my question...at these shows when you are selling in person, will you feel comfortable doing it?

When the people walked over to you, you should have been all the information they needed.  Being a knowledgeable and good salesman is pretty hard. (I`m not saying you`re not, just that it is difficult.  I would be scared to death if I had to sell my services to someone`s face.  It`s a lot easier in an e-mail or through my website!) 

While you already think the product is great, you have to be able to convey that.  Do you have the answers to any questions they will have...?

I like Janie`s idea of fliers and brochures.  I am not sure the internet is the best place to sell, because people are going to draw their own conclusions without being able to really see how the product works!

I am really grateful for your ideas, thank you!

I forgot to mention that there are several competitors that offer my same tent (www.car-top-tent.com & www.racktents.com).  Car-top-tent.com is also my supplier/drop shipper.  My pricing is lowest for these same products.  The quality of our tents are equal or better than higher priced more established brands (http://www.pangaea-expeditions.com/eeziawn/  & www.autohomeus.co )  Most of these companies sell primarily on-line, with some outdoor show support.

I love personal selling, but my budget limits venues.  I’m still working out pricing for an upscale outdoor marketing place here in OC. This venue draws several thousand people each weekend – mostly from my 18 – 40 target demographic.

Is the Internet really not a good venue for me – or is my messaging just not effectively converting?   

·        My goal is to sell 10 tents/week.

·         I get 700 unique visitors a week to my website

·        and another 700 unique visits a week to my eBay auction.

·        I’ve sold three tents so far via electronic marketing

If I could get my conversion rate to 1% I could easily justify increasing my Adwords budget to generate 300 or more hits/day.

Should I try to position my product into markets not pursued by my competitors?

My messaging is currently geared to the off road crowd – as are my competitors.  However in Europe, car top tents are popular with the general traveling public. 

Should I try position this tent as a step between traditional ground tents and pop up tent trailers and not just as a product for hard core offroaders?   It feels a little like VW introducing the beetle to the US market in the 60’s… The comparative benefits of my tent over an RV are:

·        simplicity

·        low acquisition cost

·        better gas mileage (than an RV)

·        better maneuverability

·        Park anywhere etc.

Thanks again!

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Get your life back ... Getaway Every Weekend!
Go anywhere, but sleep comfortably
in a room with a view for the top of your car.
www.CarTopCamper.com

I`ve just looked at your website, and I`m going to be bold and tell you that I find it a little confusing.  Perhaps you should look into hiring a professional web design company or freelancer to help with the layout, and then take a look at the writing.  Could it convey the benefits of the product a little better?  I hope you don`t take this offensively, but when customers go to your website, the appearance and organization of it will have a big part to play in whether they stay to browse, or leave and go somewhere else.

You need great presentation.  Right now, it looks kind of muddled.