I am currently participating in this expo. I am hoping that we get some more hotel contacts.
Hotels have been an enigma for me in this business. The ones that I closed deals with went extremely easy. There were others that I never received a concrete answer as to why they were not interested. I always received the obvious praise for my product but.... I just never knew why for some hotels it was a no-brainer (and they currently do very well with our cookies) while others just could not get it.This time I am not going to let them get away so easily. They have to tell me what is stopping them from buying the best, most delicious cookies in the market especially since some other hotels are buying and are buying well.
Here are some pictures of our stand. If it looks like half a stand that is because we actually built this stand keeping in mind one 3 by 3 meter size stand. We keep running into event organizer´s that give us an extra space (they had the space and they want us to participate so they end up giving us a space--we have been lucky that way). In this case, the stand came with that ugly little table, which turned out to be quite useful. I think next time I will have to invest in a table to use as a desk. It was just not part of the original layout so we didn´t have that thought out or developed. So, when these little opportunities pop up (free extra space) we get to use ugly little tables.This event is closed to the public. The next event will be open to the public so next week I will write about it before it starts and hopefully you can come by.
10 comments:
Frank, just a question, are you targeting hotels for any particular reason?
Hi 99,
The few hotels that I do have are doing great with the cookies. They buy regularly like clockwork. It´s a steady constant rotation of the product. This is regardless of the size. I have big hotels like the Marriott Plaza and small boutique hotels like Home Buenos Aires and Malabia House and I even have a hotel in Las Leñas called Piscis that buys every year for their high season.
Seeing this I was thinking that there must be other hotels that might take advantage of our products for their guests.
Now close your eyes and imagine going to Chicago, staying at the Drake and upon entering your room you see alfajores de maizena, or Havanna style alfajores in your mini-bar. After recovering from shock you just might be tempted to eat one and see if they are really like the ones you remember back home. Imagine your surprise at tasting them and realizing that they are not only authentic but seem home made.
This is what happens with tourist coming and visiting my client hotels and finding our chocolate chip cookies in their rooms.
That´s why I think this should be a no brainer for hotels, a perfect match like Peanut Butter and Jelly, Beer and Pizza, Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, The Captain and Tennille, Crocket and Tubs, etc.
How come I haven´t tried those beauties?
Hi CB,
I don´t know. Hey you should have received an invite to the event last week. We did not see you :-(
Did you get the invite?
Perhaps they just do business with 'friends'.
A friend of mine is selling advertising space to the hotel industry, and is experiencing the exact same responses you are.
Hi Miss Tango,
If that is the case then I guess I am sifting through and finding, in the mess, the really cool, open minded and unique hotels in Argentina. (see my sidelinks for who those hotels are)
Mind you, I am not talking to many of them since there are so many of them. That´s why I am at this event to see if I could pool a few of them in one place. However, I seem to be running into a gazillion (is it really a number?) restaurants and small catering companies. I welcome the business (if I actually close any of these contacts) but it´s not what I was targeting really.
Well, today is the last day anyway and then next week it´s Caminos & Sabores in La Rural.
I´ve been in marketing for a long time before going into my present business and I sense that you´re dealing with the struggles of the B2C problems. Lots of personal effort and money to get the right contacts. The cost/effort/effect equation sometimes could be discouraging... if you allow me, I would suggest you to explore the resellers/re-distributors chains especially if you are in the process of branding out your products.
Anyway, good luck in your sweet path!
mmm... The Drake...
I had such splendid moments there...
Hi 99,
Thanks for the comments! I am so glad I didn´t build this business targeting restaurants or catering businesses. Or actually, maybe there is a need but the solution hasn´t been found for them just so.
Anyway, I will know more about them with the follow up calls. My prediction is that I only close very few of them.
You are right on the money though. I do most of my business with clients like Falabella, Al Queso, Queso, Tonel Privado, and other little retailers. The market right now does not leave any margins to add a link the distribution chain via a distributor though. Our products are of such a high price that we decided to contact and service the retailers directly. This gives us great control over how we grow traded in for speed in growth if that makes any sense.
How funny, my wife also comes from a marketing background. To make this really uncanny Mike would have had to be in sales in Chicago...was he?
no, he was not...
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