What Happens When No One Knows About Your Great Product?

Show notes

Many companies develop great products.

The problem is few people know about them.

These companies struggle with a lack of money to do marketing. There's too much competition, or they're product-based.

Andrew Grubb is experiencing this first-hand.

As the CEO of ThinkSound, which makes earphones and headphones, Andrew heads up a company that has loyal customers....but not enough of them.

In this episode of Marketing Spark, Andrew talks about the challenges of attracting the spotlight and how Think Sounds plans to leverage community and influencers to drive sales.

Key takeaways

ThinkSound grew through word of mouth, starting with musicians at metal shows and festivals. Most sales of a new product still come from existing loyal customers, which is why the community needs to grow beyond its small size.

Andrew prefers nano and micro influencers over paying for big follower counts, because their audiences are more relevant. The catch is that sending out free headphones gets expensive.

He won't pay for reviews or gift guide spots, such as a $50,000 check for a holiday list. Paid placement isn't the channel believing in the product, so ThinkSound turns it down.

With no budget, talk directly to customers instead of buying market research. Reddit also works for this, as long as you're ready for blunt feedback.

Go deep on a narrow community rather than spreading thin across groups like gamers. ThinkSound is also exploring backstage access at music festivals and limited-run headphones with bands that have fan clubs.

What Happens When No One Knows About Your Great Product?

Show notes

Tell me what's going on with your marketing.