Tell me more ×
Answers OnStartups is a question and answer site for entrepreneurs looking to start or run a new business. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 1 down vote favorite
1

I have my own web development company and I created a web shop for a customer using Drupal Commerce.

My customer was selling children's clothing in a regular store. This store, however, no longer exists because the rental costs and such were simply too high. So we opened a webshop for her in order to sell her items through the web.

The webshop will go live in a few days and I'd like some help in the marketing department since I am a programmer and my marketing knowledge is rather limited.

What I am thinking of doing/ what I already did:

  • I will try to contact some complementary companies to see if they are interested in some sort of partnership with my client*
  • I created a blog on the webshop so that my client can communicate some of her thoughts and new products to the public.
  • I have a small e-mail list with customers (clients of my client) I can send notifications to about the new webshop
  • I am thinking of distributing flyers in my client's local area to spread the word
  • I will use google adwords to market the site

What I cannot/ will not do:

  • Use facebook or twitter extensively (I can link the blogposts to appear on the facebook/twitter account but I feel my client is not going to spend too much time on these social sites)
  • Invest too much in other types of marketing, there simply are no financial resources left

Is there anything I can do to 'brand' the web shop some more, given the limited resources?

As a side question: I'd love to learn more about marketing and branding, can you give me some names of decent practical books to read about these subjects?

*My plan with contacting other companies is: Offering them some space in our web shop to sell their products through our shop (perhaps allowing us to buy the products at a slightly discounted rate) and in turn ask them to advertise our web shop in their store, to their customers. Do you think this would be a valid approach, or would you do this differently? (Obviously, I'd only target other companies who don't already have a web shop of their own)

EDIT: The point of my 2 lists is not to restrict the discussion or to disallow any specific comments. The first list gives you some information about the things I've tried and the second list gives you some information about the restrictions I face.

Even though I have some restrictions in terms of money, this does not mean that tips that require funds are not helpful/welcome. They would just be long term operations.

share|improve this question
1  
what are actually your company's core business? is it only web development company? or including marketing consultant? – kalingga Jun 6 '12 at 10:04
1  
Did the customer have a plan before hiring you to make the drupal site? – mhoran_psprep Jun 6 '12 at 10:34
@kalingga My core business is actually just web development. But we also provide some business process management, customer relationship management services for this client in particular. We have a special contract with our client, which states that we will assist them as much as we can in the entire process of the web shop (in turn, my company gets part of the revenue). This also includes the marketing area. Normally, I would call in the help of an external agency but like I said there is a limited set of financial resources. – Mike Jun 6 '12 at 11:18
@mhoran_psprep No, the client did not have a plan. I analyzed as much of the situation as I could and I am trying to set it up myself. – Mike Jun 6 '12 at 11:21
If you're only willing to do what you've listed, and you're unable or unwilling to do anythign else, what advice are you looking for? – warren Jun 7 '12 at 14:28
show 3 more comments

1 Answer

up vote 1 down vote accepted

All you've stated is "correct".

My common sense tells me that moms will be your target client, correct me (or adapt the ideas below) if that's not the case.

I would also try to contact some magazines/newspappers that moms read and offer their readers a discount coupon. That will help to spread the word with no investment from your side, except the discount.

Another strategy is to sponsor events where moms will attend massively (possibly with a discount coupon). Or hang out flyers on thoese events.

You should really not ignore Facebook now, actually, your client should spend more time on social networks.

Check out how many connections you can reach among you and your client and some close friends that will gladly spread the word in social networks.

It's a great starting point - don't fool yourself about it.

share|improve this answer
1  
Yes, I agree that You shouldn't ignore facebook. Actually I'm also selling children's clothing. And I use facebook to sell my products. And the result is very amazing me. – kalingga Jun 7 '12 at 1:32
Thanks for your input, and I do agree on the facebook issue. The problem is that a) either you use facebook in a decent manner and it has some success (but then you need to actually use it. And use it often) or b) you use facebook but don't actually care about it (which I believe is the case here) and you do more harm with it than good. @kalingga , kan you give me some tips on how you use facebook to promote your products? Thanks a lot! – Mike Jun 7 '12 at 7:17

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.