Building a Tribe

[OdieWon]

OK, so I've been studying under the tutelage of the Tribe here at WT, and early this year I started my own business. I still work full time at the HVAC/R shop that my brother in law owns, but am building and growing another business on the side.

It's weapons/gear/skill set oriented and I'm not ready to launch into the big leagues quite yet. So I'll leave the business/products description out of the conversation.

I'm on to building a sort of following, or a tribe. What I'm wondering, is how many tire kickers do you expect to see between discerning, quality oriented people with the cash to buy?

Currently I'm running a small ad campaign on Facebook, because it is within my budget, and they have a relatively comprehensive method that allows me to pick the demographic I'm shooting for in detail. As of this post I'm approaching 1900 "Likes". I'm adding roughly 100-150 subscribers per day at a cost of $10/per day. Which is cheap for advertising. I guess since I am just now getting my name out there I thought that social media would be the fastest way to get in front of alot of people as fast as possible.

I also have acquired a table at the local gun show this month by an unexpected miracle. As typically these tables are booked a year in advance. I have sent products to a fellow WT member and friend for a little T&E, and also to I've been working for several local customers.

What's next? Today I got the call that a table at the show opened up, and I designed a decent looking banner to put up at the table. Although I have no illusions that the local game is where it is at. I would like to get as many of the local customers as possible.

[OdieWon]

Bump. ten characters

[AlwaysVigilant]

Don't know how to advise without knowing what you're doing but on the tire kicker question...it has a lot to do with how and where you advertise, as much as what you are selling. Price point alone will dictate a lot of who stops by. If its accessible to more people, you will have more tire kickers...just the law of averages.

The one problem with FB is liking something takes zero commitment, so 1900 likes may equate to 10 sales. The local idea never hurts if you are good at what you do or offer a quality product or a good value. Word of mouth is the strongest advertisement around for eliminating tire kickers. Friends know what friends want and trust each other to give good leads.

Hope that helps a little.

[Vigilant]

Subscribers or customers? Big difference! From looking at my family and friends' "likes" they hit the button because it interests them, but so far as I know, they never BUY anything they "like"! For example, my girlfriend "liked" the TAD website, but has never spent a dime on their products, I on the other hand, spend a small fortune there but can careless what's on their FB site. You need to find targeted marketing to those you want as consumers, such as Gabe has done with this website! Also as has been said, some info about your products and or services would be helpful, such as price point! Are you targeting the "booger hook" crowd with cheap product at even cheaper prices or the Bon Vivant crowd or somewhere in between?

[strengverboten]

Tagged for interest :finger:



Something tells me he isn't going for booger-pickers..

[Gabriel Suarez]

This is something we do not want to discuss much here as it may give "The Others" ideas. I suggest a thorough perusal of Seth Godin's works. He basically wrote about how we did what we did...and we didn't even know it!!