Situation: Despite having invented a tackle piece that seemed destined to become the next big thing for every fisherman to have in their tackle box, Johnny found himself struggling to build awareness and drive sales. Johnny was determined to find a resource to help build the company brand and attract more customers to stay in business. Having minimal capital to hire a private business consultant, Johnny sought assistance in creating growth opportunities from his local Manufacturing Technology Small Business Development Center (MTSBDC) at TechSolve.
Project: The Cincinnati MTSBDC counseled and collaborated with Johnny on business and marketing strategies, website design and restructuring, networking, intellectual property, market research and branding. With this assistance and advice, Salamander Sinkers was able to expand their presence across the nation with advertising and in-store presence in California and New York.
After building momentum and receiving positive a response, Johnny sought further guidance from the MTSBDC to explore the viability of exporting the product to Canada. He was linked up with Ohio’s Global Markets Division and is in the process of working with a Canadian distribution representative to get his product in the right stores for high market impact.
Results:
- Tripled sales.
- Hired two more employees.
- Increased presence from one store to 12 stores.
- Increased web traffic leading to online sales.
- Improved packaging and branding.
- Acquired blister machine.
- Expanded into California and New York, with possible distribution into Canada.