Thank you for your feedback , I will take that into consideration.
I have been deliberetly asking the merchants which of the filters are the most popular .
They are stating at the moment ,fernox tf1 and magnacleans sell well .
This is my opinion ,the magnet on the spirotech mb3 and the new dirt magiq are not that strong.
We will be sampling the first batch in October .
My email address is
[email protected] , if you give me an email around October , i will send a filter out to you for free .
Let me know how you would market a new product on a shoe string!
I would make maximum use of the Internet to market the product on a shoe string.
A few ideas here ...
First of all you need a name to launch your brand with ... as an example...
............................................................................................................
HEX+PRO TECHNOLOGY [+]
Double Hex+Protect
Super-Flow Technology keeps heat exchangers clear and clean of magnetite and other harmful debris.
Advanced drain and instant access design enables easy top-up of system inhibitor chemicals.
Easy to fit and maintain from a British manufacturer, plus a 2-year warranty.
............................................................................................................
A short and concise intro to your product presented consistently in all your advertising, maybe with a logo ... [+] was the nearest I could get to a heat exchanger logo on a standard keyboard.
You can set up a digital shop-window on a shoestring by setting up a website with a link to You-Tube where potential customers can view a demo video showing off your product.
You could make up a demo rig like the one in this Spirotrap video
SpiroTrap MB2 Demonstration (Domestic) - YouTube
Use a Handycam, or similar, and Windows Movie Maker, to construct a video showing a demo of your filter. A good selling point would be to show how your filter picks up debris and magnetite missed by other filters when second in line to them on a transparent pipe. A see-through heat exchanger made up of Perspex pipe would be good for showing effects of missed magnetite and debris. Using editing facility in Windows MM to create build up of residue and blockages.
Also, show demo of drain and top-up facility.
Having a link from You Tube back to your website will enable people to get further details about the filter, price, contact, etc.
If you don’t fancy making the video yourself, or want more advanced graphics, you should be able to find a keen amateur on You Tube near you who will do it for a small charge.
Once you have your shop-window set up on the Internet you can decide on targets.
Why not aim high and see if BG will give it a trial?
The heavy brass body of MB is sure to see the cost of them shoot up as the cost of such materials consistently increases. And the exterior magnet on MB3 does look like an after-thought – bit of a dog’s dinner if you ask me.
So if your filter can fit the bill for BG, maybe they would put their own badge on it, and run with it – nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the saying goes.
As for general pointers on marketing of the filter: I think you should aim to sell it as better than the others, rather than “as good but cheaper”, which is the impression I have got from the way you have talked about it on this site.
Pick up on the weak points of the others, and emphasis how your filter is better, e.g. a bigger magnet than MB2; better body construction and connections than MagnaClean, etc.
One way of pulling in small one-man band plumbers could be to offer a marketing package for their own business with every ten units taken, e.g. business cards, letter heads, flyers, etc, all carrying recognition of them as Hex+Protect Technology agents. You could have a register of agents on your website, and your website could have a password protected link for HPT agents to access further help with marketing, i.e. of your filter and their businesses.
Any advertising you do will have a note of your website, and your website could have a post code finder for HPT agents.
Presumably you will be selling such packages to the merchants, who will be distributors and pull in the one-man-bands. You could do bonus offers when 50, 100, units, etc, have been taken – clothing maybe, with the Hex-Protect badge on, and the plumber’s business name.
Include a sticker for the boiler with every filter carrying the ‘Hex+Protected Technology’ assurance trade mark. Also, a plasticised reusable sticker on the filter for due top-up dates. A badged marker pen included in the box would be a nice touch, and would get the brand name circulating some more.
[FONT=&]Just a few ideas to consider.
If you can persuade a national chain of merchants to give it a go based on being better as a filter, and with a better profit margin, then the 'rolling of the ball' will depend on the quality of your filter.
One thing to consider is whether your manufacturer could cope if you did get a big order?
It wouldn't be the first time a business has fallen down due to being too successful, too quickly.
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