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Anything on the Internet
By admin | July 18, 2008
Funny things can happen with the Internet. You just might find something you really want . . . even if you don�t know it exists. There are products out there to suit very specific needs.
Everyone in my household, myself excluded, wanted a dog. The trouble is every one of us is allergic to dogs. Being an Internet savvy family, my kids pursued an online search for robotic dogs while my wife hit the search engines with, �dogs for people with allergies.� She tested poodles and an assortment of �low allergen� dogs in person � achoo! But soon she came across a new breed recognized by the American Kennel Club as the American Hairless Terrier. She saw pictures (cute) and read testimonials from highly allergic people who were able to cohabitate without the use of a big plastic bubble.
She emailed owners and breeders and was quickly drawn into a unique family of helpful folks whose lives have been touched by the hairless breed. The result: soon a plane from Baton Rouge was carrying a tiny allergy free dog in an animal crate to BWI. What arrived was pink, totally hairless and smooth like a naked baby. I tried to name him Rubber Dog or Yule Brenner but the kids found a better name, Gadget. You guessed it, they found the name from a Web site for naming dogs.
The American Hairless Terrier is practically allergy proof, does not shed and never gets fleas. Yet they are not particularly valuable. In fact, no one we know, even veterinarians have ever seen one.
There�s a lesson to be learned here. The Internet is a good tool for finding very specific things but it�s not so easy to get the word out. Niche marketing can be powerful stuff on the Net but when there�s potential to expand demand more broadly, the challenges become greater. Although excellent for just-in-time demands, branding is difficult for the seller. So even a great product may not become widely known unless the right channels are used.
In the case of real live rubber dogs, better use of the major portals associated with dogs and pets could help with branding. Feature stories, promotional events and better use of multimedia, would do an excellent job of promoting wider recognition.
Affiliations with larger more established sites is critical to getting the word out. And don�t forget non-Internet media including TV and print. It�s a big country and with so many messages out there, viral style marketing (tell a friend) may have an even greater impact. Anything enhancing word of mouth communications is worth reinforcing. Don�t underestimate the vastness of the market. Some untapped niches may be quite large. I know of Web sites that sell commercial products such as industrial strength mixing bowls only to find wealthy consumers buying them in droves for their homes.
So look out, if you have the right product and make use of all the Internet has to offer, it might soon be raining rubber dogs.
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