Like many young UK businesses we've managed to get our ball rolling, secure sales and raise awareness of our products by exhibiting at shows and online promotion. So far we have "avoided" traditional £advertising in any of the Guitar magazines but we wondered if this medium was still worthwhile investing in - we ran a small poll on twitter recently and 50% of those who responded suggested they no longer buy/read magazines; preferring to catch up with the latest news & reviews online.
Do any forum members running their own business have any experience or thoughts to share?
Oak & Bespoke Guitar Stands & Racks made in Shropshire, England.
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Always an odd discussion on a guitar forum as the cross over with people who read guitar mags doesn't seem to be huge - more ex and occasional readers. That still leaves some people you could probably only get to via magazines. Guitarist distribution is less than about 25000 now, as far as I can see, so the hit on any advert would have to be reasonably good. I have occasionally bought Classic Rock, same publishers but over twice the readership, and noticed ads for higher end guitar stuff in there. Given that Stand Made might be seen as a lifestyle product as much as a guitar one then maybe Classic Rock or golf magazines or the Observer, etc, etc, might be better.
Mags for reviews are probably still worthwhile (@thorpyfx and @TheGuitarWeasel will know better than I), but you can probably spend your advertising budget more effectively elsewhere. Maybe even diverting that advertising spend into a business that can help you build your social media presence.
This place isn't bad either - particularly because anyone Googling for your product will find any threads here are listed quite high up the search results, so getting some positive comment here will help build your credibliity.
Andy - you have a slightly different product to most , so there is a bit of crossover
I still feel that a mix of Instagram, facebook and I know you like Twitter (although I don't see it as a good visual medium)
Maybe a comparison pic of how much better a Standmade stand would look in a home than a metal frame one
Many guitars have a re-sale value. Some you'll never want to sell.
Stockist of: Earvana & Graphtech nuts, Faber Tonepros & Gotoh hardware, Fatcat bridges. Highwood Saddles.
Pickups from BKP, Oil City & Monty's pickups.
Expert guitar repairs and upgrades - fretwork our speciality! www.felineguitars.com. Facebook too!
Social media works, glossies are a waste of money for paid ads, unless you are one of the big boys and can take full pages monthly, where you win by simply chucking money at the problem.
I have a practically zero advertising budget, but seem to do okay with a mix of social media and the odd review :-)
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
We did secure a back page (free) feature last year in Guitarist "presents Acoustic" and like your review @TheGuitarWeasel the editorial definitely made a noticeable £difference - particularly overseas orders strangely!
We also know we really need to invest more time on Social Media and, as you say @TTony begin doing it properly - all our customers describe our racks & stands as quality guitar "furniture" and yet I don't think we've really focused enough on this (high quality images & "in the home" videos are definitely on the to do list Jonathan @FelineGuitars)
Thanks also @EricTheWeary and @Strat54 - much appreciated!
That's lunchtime over - back to it!
Many guitars have a re-sale value. Some you'll never want to sell.
Stockist of: Earvana & Graphtech nuts, Faber Tonepros & Gotoh hardware, Fatcat bridges. Highwood Saddles.
Pickups from BKP, Oil City & Monty's pickups.
Expert guitar repairs and upgrades - fretwork our speciality! www.felineguitars.com. Facebook too!
The small stands go really well at Xmas and the engraving secures many sales for birthdays, anniversaries etc.
Advertising shouldn't be seen as a silver bullet, it's one facet of a constant and diverse pressure to increase brand awareness. I.e advertise, do it smartly, and ensure you monitor the yield from the effort.
Basically, we want to start promoting the workshop Showroom and reaffirming that, like our production methods, we are a genuinely traditional and not a high-tech or mass producing business. However, when every penny still counts and the effectiveness of traditional advertising is still to be tested, it feels a very daunting decision!
Someone who already knows your trustworthy and have great wares is far more valuable than the generally sceptical view of someone who doesn't. Not to mention when you're small time, trying to shift a customer's immense inertia (in this market particularly) from a large name when you're not a known name is a massive hurdle.
If I've learnt anything in the year I've been in business, it's that the customer loyalty in this market cannot ever be underestimated.
We never spend on print anymore unless they are including it in what's new and or a review. We make them chase us.
more effective is.
An active social media approach
what we have learnt for us is give 3 information posts on related subject to one get our new product.post. Golden rule give to get.
post at the same time on a regular basis so people get to know when you have content.
video is king a simple two iPhone video on a glue product got us our highest likes and engagement. Way more than just images.
for us paid Facebook boosted posts to a good profile of users can see a solid spike in sales in the ensuing 30 days..
build a mailing list to send regular newsletters. Is a solid reliable method but make content educational and not just here are a list of products and prices. Also exclusive mail list offers work to build brand loyalty and income.
i could write 10 pages but that is the core and ultimately print has a much lower roi than FB and social.
What I have undoubtedly realized through this discussion is that we might have a new, improved website about to launch and a workshop Showroom about to open, but we still need to begin really INTERACTING with the people already visiting/discovering us; making their experience a much more interesting, positive one BEFORE investing in trying to increase our audience figures through print advertising.
I am really pleased with how the business has steadily grown over the last 4 years and the hundreds of emailed testimonials we've so far received praising us for the quality of our products, skills and service, but the next crucial step is much clearer now.
I'll keep sharing our personal marketing plans & experiences along the way - hoping they might help others too.
Thanks again everyone.
Andy
Post photos of the manufacturing process (within reason, don't give your secrets away) mixed in amongst product photos an and you will generate a lot of interest. People are as much interested in photos of the daily ins and outs of your business as much as they are with product photos. Just ask Marc @Mojopickups how instagram has helped him. He has a massive following. Plus - instagram is the fastest growing platform since 2012. Its free promotion.
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message