Marketing to Local Business - How to

STaN

Our company is interested in selling our product to a number of businesses around our area.

We have moved to a new business park and there are about 15 other parks in the immediate area and many more businesses within 2km of us.

Is there a way to get a list of these, a contact number and maybe what they do?

I am aware that you can purchase lists, has anyone got any recommendations on this or price lists.

Is there another way of doing it, besides driving around and taking their names down?

Nuttzz

kompass do a industrial estates directory with every company in every estate in dublin, its fairly up to date

STaN

Originally posted by Nuttzz
kompass do a industrial estates directory with every company in every estate in dublin, its fairly up to date

Do they charge per record or?

Nuttzz

its a book

http://www.kompass.ie/directories/dir-ind-estates.html

STaN

Just rang them, they have a CD with 133,000 businesses listed on it with the option to export 2000 entries for €600.

Is there any other way to get such lists ?

Specky

Directories are ok but their value depends on what you're going to use the info for.

Some business parks have a management company that looks after them, they can give you a full list of the tenants, probably with the people to talk to in there too (Kompass often just list the MD or CEO who may not necessarily be the person to talk to and probably lives behind a gate keeper).

Some companies make mailshotting work but it's a numbers game, you have to be mail shotting massively to get good returns in general (a very high percentage of mail shots either go to the wrong person (so they go in the bin) or are ignored (so they go in the bin)).

If you're interested in local companies then you probably see the value of a local presence so in my view you'd get more value from actually visiting the companies. Brochures dropped in to reception, get your face known by the receptionists, get a feel for the size and financial state of the companies by looking at the furniture they have in reception, pick up their brochures so you get a good idea of what they do and can scan their logos/product pictures etc to include in your sales presentations next time you visit, pick up a copy of the company's internal phone directory if you can.

I don't know anything about your business so these ideas might not be appropriate but in my experience selling off lists is for the double glazing people. You need to develop relationships and you do that with people face to face.

ur mentor

Call me old fashioned, but why not call in, intrduce youself as a neighbour.
You will meet receptionist, they may put you through directly to the prson you need to meet. If not at least you have the correct name, etc. Your next call can start "missed you last week when I called in....."
Mailshots and phone cold calls are fairly useless in terms of response.
For €600 worth of time i'd be surprised if you havent made a couple of sales
Good luck