A Crash Course in Marketing Hot and Spicy Products

by the Staff of the Fiery Foods Super Site

Nine Ways to Capture Market Share Through Guerilla Marketing Strategies

Every time we look around, the fiery foods industry has taken new turns, introduced new products, developed new markets, and has found new ways to reach the expanding demand for chile.

Some companies have developed mail order connections to reach the market, some are developing the high end of the market with gourmet products, and others are creating entirely new products both in food and non-food categories. Most of the firms doing the experimenting are small enough so that they can change quickly to accommodate the market.

Below are some guerilla marketing techniques with examples of how small companies are implementing them. The outline of these techniques is borrowed courtesy of Matt Ross, vice president and management supervisor for Ogilvy and Mather's Houston office.

 

1. Have the acceptance of the people and you can conquer the greatest powers on earth. We have all seen corporate giants purchase small companies in the fiery foods industry. Does this happen because the large corporation's technical staff can't figure out how to make an equivalent product? No, it happens because the small company has gained something both precious and immeasurable: popular acceptance. Small companies survive on their ability to gain the acceptance of the people.

    

2. Never directly attack powerful cities; control the countryside and you will gain the cities. This premise works both geographically and for market share. The successful fiery foods entrepreneurs are filling a niche in the market that a large corporation can't afford to fill. Many entrepreneurs are focussing on local levels where the large corporations cannot afford to concentrate their resources.

    

3. The best battles are never fought; be prepared to retreat and get business but not too much attention. In a head-on fight with a major company, a small entrepreneur doesn't stand much of a chance. A company that can retreat and then develop another aspect of the business has much better odds for survival. Better yet, play the market in such a way that the large company doesn't feel threatened. Remember, you're in the business of building your business, not in the business of showing the big guys who you are.

    

4. When you do fight, go for share, not ego. There are dozens of small fiery food producers who have developed segments of the market that can't be touched by large industry. But in the open field, in the national food stores, they would be crushed if they competed head-on. So instead of attempting to gain fame, go for a big share of your own market.

    

5. Fight on your own turf and define the terms of battle. An ancient Chinese warrior once said, "If your enemy is 200 miles away, make sure it is he who travels the 200 miles to the battle." This philosophy is similar to point 4, above. If you have developed a niche, fight on the terms of that niche--that's where you've found acceptance, and that's where you'll find support.

    

6. Your enemy's greatest strength is also his greatest weakness. This point is illustrated by distribution and development systems. The same distribution system which enables a large food manufacturer to be on the shelves of the major supermarket chains in all fifty states makes it impossible for that manufacturer to reach consumers by, say, mail order. Or, the same development by 75% of consumers makes it unappealing to 25%. If you are interested in that 25%, you are playing your strength against your competitors' weakness.

    

7. Let the leader build the market. We have heard people say, "We have to educate our market." A small company cannot afford to educate its market. All it can do is take advantage of the education being done by the corporate giants.

    

8. Don't get confused; you're not the leader. Keeping this principle in mind can save a lot of grief. A few of the small airline companies which were boosted by deregulation collapsed because they believed they could take over the number one position. Pepsi and Avis, on the other hand, have done very well by being number two.

    

9. Focus, focus, focus: on your objectives, product resources, and your company appeal. Overheard from one president of a small chile company: "One more great opportunity and we're out of business." This principle is crucial in a business like the fiery foods industry where new opportunities arise all the time. Avoid jumping on every new fad; instead, stick with a good idea, weather the turns of the industry, and you'll do fine.
   
   

Selling the Sizzle Through Trade Shows

Trade shows can be as boring as food without chile--or they can be a sizzling success. It all depends on you.

Nearly every type of business in the fiery foods industry can utilize trade shows in its marketing plan. For one thing, trade shows are relatively inexpensive. For less than the cost of a few spots on prime-time local TV, a business can utilize a display space in a three-day show.

Such shows are a terrific way to sell the product or service directly to a pre-qualified group of prospects. Trade shows are also useful in gathering leads for a future approach by phone or mail, and can be used for on-site test marketing purposes. Additionally, a show can become a special event within the context of the company's existing advertising program. In fact, many exhibitors plan on shows as reasons for sales promotions.

After buying space in a trade show, do not forget about the show and then--at the last minute--put together a weak display consisting of a card table, a chair, a miniscule sign, and a chart. Just as your product must compete within its own marketplace, your exhibit must compete for public attention within the show. Thus your entire display becomes an extension of your marketing program and should be planned as carefully as any brochure or TV campaign.

Here are some hints to maximize your marketing dollar in the trade show environment by adding some sizzle.

 

1. The more appealing your display, the more traffic it will get. Little touches like attractive signage, carpeting, furniture for customers to rest on and nice lighting help a lot. Informative (as well as sales-oriented) signs tend to keep the attention of prospects. If possible, use a hands-on display, where the customer participates by taking a quiz, touching an object, or sampling a food product.

    

2. Whoever is manning the exhibit should remain standing and should greet each and every person who wanders by. Inevitably, the displays that fail in a show are those manned by sullen or uncommunicative employees who sit in the back of the display and work crossword puzzles. The best people to work the booth are the principals of the company or the sales department--not secretaries, receptionists, or temporaries.

    

3. Have information for customers to take with them. Think how much it costs to place your information directly into the hands of qualified prospects by any other method. Imprinted gifts such as pens, sacks, and balloons are also helpful. If you wish to build a prospect list, hold a registration give-away. The customer participates by using his/her business card to qualify.

    

4. Utilize the available technology. Short video presentations (under five minutes) are quite useful, as are slide shows. Interactive, touch-screen computer technology will be the wave of the future in trade shows.

    

5. If you sell directly to the public, don't be shy. Have a team of hungry yet polite salespeople manning your display at all times, presenting the product and closing sales.

    

6. Support your display with other advertising which will tell about the show and your appearance in it. Although many exhibitors rightly feel that advertising is the producer's responsibility, the important point here is that the impact of the show is much greater if everyone works together on the promotion of it.

    

7. Try to have something or someone very unusual at your display--an expert in the field, a new technology breakthrough, a celebrity endorser, the world's only thingamajig. For example, Bueno Foods gets attention by way of a person who wanders around the show wearing a green chile costume with the Bueno logo on it. Other companies pass out pins, badges, or shopping bags.

    

8. Remember that only a portion of the business you receive will occur during show hours. Attendees and buyers must visit more than a hundred booths and sample hundreds of products, so many do not have time to place orders at the show. Rather, they collect information, take notes, and make their decisions later. Overheard from an exhibitor at the 1993 National Fiery Foods Show: "At first we were disappointed because we're used to working gift shows; but a few weeks after the show, orders started pouring in."

    

9. One show does not a marketing campaign make. Many first-time exhibitors expect instant success with their first show. Well, it took the Fiery Foods Show three years to turn a profit! Likewise, it often takes more than one-time exhibiting at the same show to gain product identification.
   

Publicizing Your Products

In the fiery foods business, an important part of marketing is simply letting people know what products you have for sale. Getting good publicity can make a major difference in your attempts to reach potential consumers.

Although you cannot control publicity to the same degree as your advertising efforts, it still can benefit your overall sales plan. Below we've listed some reminders and pointers on how to obtain publicity for your products.

We've discovered that these pointers work very well in obtaining press coverage. Our experience is based on obtaining publicity for Chile Pepper magazine, and by evaluating the press packets which arrive at Fiery Foods! from companies in the fiery foods industry.

 

1. Make the editor's job easy. Most editors are just as busy as you are. During the fast pace of the day, editors will often choose the news which is easiest for them to rewrite for their publications. If you send a clear, well-written press release which simply explains the news about your latest product, you will greatly increase your chances for coverage. In many cases we've experienced, if your message is clear and simple enough, an editor may make only minor changes and send it through. To get an idea of the style to follow, study product announcements in food magazines and you'll improve your press coverage.

    

2. Plan your publicity. Many companies plan their product development and introductions, plan their direct mail and advertising campaigns, but forget to plan their publicity. Since publicity must coincide with other product time frames, it must be planned. Make a list of publications which cover your type of product and schedule mailings to them.

    

3. It may not be news to you, but it's headlines in New Jersey. There may be seven other manufacturers of a similar product in your home city, but that doesn't mean it isn't newsworthy somewhere else. Maybe 87% of the population of New Jersey can't pronounce "jalapeño" properly, but if you get the word out about your unique salsa in New Jersey newspapers, you'll be surprised to discover how many of their readers will send checks to find out what it tastes like. It doesn't have to be news to you; it just has to be news to the people you're trying to reach.

    

4. Don't ignore small publications such as weekly newspapers. Smaller publications have smaller writing staffs and must depend on outsiders for copy. Occasionally, articles about products which appear in smaller publications get picked up by news services which supply other smaller papers. The cumulative effect can be great--especially when your phone number gets circulated all over the country.

    

5. Emphasize the unique aspects of your product. Just another salsa? That won't be news to us or to anyone else. But maybe it's made from your grandmother's recipe and she's a balloonist! Or maybe the recipe includes rare Bolivian Killagringo peppers! Determine your unique selling proposition and build your release around it.

    

6. Give a little to get a lot. If you send a sample of your product with the press release, you'll greatly increase your chances of getting coverage. Believe us--when editors receive an actual product, they have greater confidence in the information they're passing along to their readers. Plus, they feel slightly obligated to those companies who go out of their way to provide good information with tasty product samples to back it up.

    

7. Make sure they know how to find you. Even though your stationery has your address and phone number on it, make certain you include them again within the text of the press release. And place this information near the middle of the release, not in the first or last paragraphs, which are most likely to be edited out.

    

8. Send to people, not to publications. Find out the name of the food editor (or other appropriate editor) and mail your release to that person's attention. Sending information marked simply "Attn. Food Editor" will diminish your chances for coverage because mail clerks know names better than titles. Without a specific name, your release is likely to end up in the circular file and the sample in the mail clerk's stomach.

    

9. Follow up with a phone call. Just as you would with a sales presentation, follow up the press release with a phone call to the individual you sent it to. Ask him or her: "Did you get our release and sample?" "Do you have any questions?" "Are you planning on covering our product?" Yes, we confess that sometimes these calls bug us--but they work!
   

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