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I've recently launched an ecommerce startup which I've been working on in my spare time for the last 2 years. Now that I'm finally ready to market I'm not sure exactly how to proceed.

I think it's an unusual product because it allows the user to create print advertising from their site content.

Does anyone have any tips on marketing in such a competitive field?

oh and btw if you feel like giving any feedback on the product itself that would be v. appreciated :) you can check it out at

http://www.wizifi.com

cheers, eli

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3 Answers

up vote 1 down vote

2 suggestions:

  • Get channel partners that can do the integration/marketing work for your customers. You might want to take a look at MagentoCommerce's channel strategy.
  • Contact retail stores that don't have an eCommerce yet and try to sell them your product.

Good luck with your startup!

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up vote 0 down vote

Before you get to the actual marketing, there are a couple of things that you'll want to change about the site itself. Maybe you already have things in the works - I don't know.

The video demonstration lagged horribly for me. I have DSL, so I would have expected a smooth stream. You may wish to double check with your provider and their capabilities. If you are streaming this off of your web server, you may wish to find a separate host for streaming.

Also, while I think the site looks nice overall, there's nothing that I saw on the page that builds any sort of trust towards. Testimonials, associations with software companies as a solution provider - anything that would tell someone visiting the site that they aren't the first person to do business with you and that you're associated with well known companies.

I think the price is certainly reasonable for what you're offering.

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Hi Frank, Thanks for your feedback. If you have a moment could you check back to the videos? I've switched them to my amazon S3 account hopefully they are better. I can see what you mean by building trust - it is a very good suggestion. I'll definitely be looking into improving this aspect. – Eli Jan 19 '10 at 3:14
The video loads pretty fast here. – Olivier Lalonde Feb 3 '10 at 12:08
up vote 1 down vote

The question in the title doesn't match the question in the detail. You ask about breaking into a heavily saturated field, but then you discuss a unique product (and your site claims to be the only such provider).

You can try running a traditional marketing campaign to drive traffic to your site.You can advertise on social media sites, and interact with potential clients. You can go to forums where issues about creating advertising material are discussed.

I should warn you, some of the information on your site is questionably accurate. I looked at your pricing page, and you estimate the cost of having your own site at $4000+, but the reality is that you can get a site for $500, and for an eCommerce site, from $2000. I know, because that's part of my business, and the business of some of my sister companies.

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Hi Elie, Thanks for your response. Sorry I should have been more clear I meant that ecommerce is a saturated market, however I have build a unique element which is the print catalogue builder. It is honestly not my intention to be stretching things in the pricing comparison page. The $4000 I am referring to is for a custom, from the ground up ecommerce CMS implementation. I imagine you could have an existing open source cart tailored to your needs for $2000. I will try to reword this section to be more clear. Thanks for your feedback. – Eli Jan 19 '10 at 3:06
I would say 4000$+ seems like a reasonable figure for your target market. Don't worry about that ;) – Olivier Lalonde Feb 3 '10 at 12:05

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