B2B Marketing

Well, here is a big one. Put your contact information on your site. ;) If someone is interested or has questions, how the hell they gonna get in touch with ya? I, and many online purchasers, are 100% against only being able to contact the company via a webform. A lot of people even like to know where you are located (which is important for sales tax. If you are selling to the people in your state, you have to tax them, you can't just say "no state" like your form options). You are emphasizing B2B, which implies you are going after wineries. They are going to want to talk to someone, especially for $2K a pop.

Second, have a video of the unit in action on your site to download.

You say it is small and lightweight. What are the dimensions and weight of it?

People love pictures. Have pictures of the unit in use.

That is a good step. It can be expensive when you add in travel cost, but you are getting to the people that will actually use your product.

Picture, pictures, pictures. I see the control and the remote, but i don't see anything else. Does it control one pump? Show it and how it is connected, at least in some visual format, not detailed wiring. Show it "in action" to generate more interest. Let's see some vats or barrels in the bacground.

You state it has four speeds and forward and reverse. OK, I believe you but the control has numbers from 1 to 6. Surely you don't expect people to remember that 5 means forward, etc.

Be a little bolder with the statements of what it does. Sort of like a bulleted list rather than a simple paragraph of text. Ed snipped-for-privacy@snet.net

It goes to 11.

Clyde - Why are pumps with attached controls becoming obsolete? With regard to your product it's not clear to me if the control can be used with any pump or do you have to order pumps designed to be operated with the control. Is there a cost advantage with your control versus the "attached control" pump? Can the control be easily installed? Is there programing involved? Can more than one pump be operated with a single control? An idea for you ~ In the past year I've received VCR tapes that demonstrate a product [The Perfect Club (golf), The DR Power Wagon (gardening tool)]. I was interested in both products to begin with and the videos iced the cake. I bought both products. I think this would really help your sales effort>

Bill Frazier Olathe, Kansas

As we now launch into a sideline business, this

This is the 21st century and people are mailing vcr tapes? ;) That's so

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!

Constructed criticism by the group should not be scorned on but applauded

as they give a frank view of your product,

===== Clyde Gill

Steelville, Missouri, USA

Occupation: Winery Owner (peaceful bend vineyard)

meta name="description" content="The Midwest forum to buy, sell, trade used winery and vineyard equipment" meta name="keywords" content="Missouri, grape, grapes, vineyard, vineyards, French-American Hybrid, Hybrid grapes, vinegar, vintage, wine" meta name="robots" content="index, follow" meta name="Abstract" content="Midwest Winery Classifieds"

meta name="Revisit-After" content="30 Days" title Vinic | Wireless Wine Pump Control. /title

PeacefulBendVineyard.com provides a virtual look at the unique winery located along the Meramec River at the edge of Missouri's pristine Ozark Wilderness

misn.com

Property of Clyde and Katie Gill Peaceful Bend Vineyard, L.L.C.

In other words, you plug the pump into the unit, turn the power switch on, and the remote becomes 'live'.

Comment :-I would like to take you up on this point,

Anything that can go wrong will, were is the manual over ride.

It would suggest from your operation manual that the transmitter is on all the time even when the power for the pump is switched off.

Also there does not seem to be any indication to the power source

the transmitter uses.

I find no problem with it in my cellar, but then again I designed and built the thing! I've got an optional transmitter that has places for name tags. Possibly some simple, waterproof stickers!?

Comment:- Has any body attempted to use your contraption other than your self, I would say not, it does not sound very versatile or user friendly.

your product is to expensive at $1885

applauded

I think I agree.... that is if you meant to say 'constructive criticism'.

Appearantly you think my response was in scorn!? I assure you that was not my intent and reading it over again I fail to see how it could be interpreted that way!? But learning to communicate online, in the written word, is a continual lesson for me and I know that I'm often misinterpreted. From the repsonse of this group, I have picked up some good ideals, was shown some great insight on how I should present things, and said thanx at least twice. If that wasn't enough, thanx again everyone! Just because I explain my point of view does not mean I scorn or discount the comment.

switch on,

There's a manual power switch on the side of the wall mount. When in the off position, power is disconnected from everything in the box including the receiver and the AC drive.

Yes. Much like the remote to a TV or a keyless entry to a car. And just like those devices, it doesn't use any power unless a button is depressed. That's why your TV remote will go dead if it spends too much time between the seat cushions, but will last awhile if only sitting on the coffee table. The transmitter to the Vinic may be able to send a signal at any time, but unless the receiver has power to it, the signal does nothing.... unless it happens to open your garage door, but then it can be set to a different frequency.

Good point. It's a standard (at least here in the US) 9Vdc battery cell.

Yes.

I'm curious why you would say this and what would make you think that? The prototype I made has a cord for the power so it can be plugged into any 240 3phase wall outlet. Beyond trying it on pumps at several other local wineries, I hooked it up to my destemmer/crusher and my grape press to regulate their speeds. Won't be able to actually test it until harvest, but it seems to work fine dry. The remote function is a bit overkill for these machines, but it does a nice job with variable speed.

The AC drive that is the heart of this unit is a relatively new advent. I believe they showed up on the scene in this form about six years ago, and the price is just now coming within reach for practical use. They are available in many power ranges, but 2Hp, 240 3 phase is the most common pump motor in wineries. It controls the frequency output of the power, which in turn makes any motor of this type run at various speeds. They're quite common in industry these days... just nobody has hooked them up with a wireless remote before... at least that I know of. And, BTW, this setup wouldn't work with just any AC drive.

Yet again, I'm curious why you would say this? Keep in mind this isn't for home use.

There's nothing else out there like this at this point, so it's fairly difficult to comparison shop. As I mentioned before, the price is inline with comparable corded remote controls. Don't get me wrong, I intend to make a profit off this, but you'd be hard pressed to build one for much less than this, unless you could get the volume discounts I receive on the various components. My profit margin is not that great.

Your comments have not been ignored, evidenced by my response. They will all continue to be taken in, processed, and help contribute to this project and I'm deeply indebted.

Also, my questions within the responses are *not* rhetorical, which if read them that way might, this be interpreted as scorn. But I genuinely would like to know the answers.

Thanx Stephen and others, before now and in the future with the help you've given me.

Kindest Regards,

clyde

Wonderful concept and a fine product. The comments were pretty thorough. My suggestion is that you review patent and intellectual property law. Pay particular attention to disclosure of ideas which may invalidate any future parent on said idea. I say this as you seem to be a go-getter, and you might apply patent law concepts to other ideas/ products you have in the future.

-- KB MO

The subject has come up before... in fact, just the other day on our porch during a music event. I also took the idea to our lawyer awhile back (not a patent lawyer). There's much to consider about such a process. The cost is among the top considerations at this point. Though the gadget is fairly original, assembling other peoples components is not a new concept. I researched such things as Dell computers, which basically started as an IBM clone back in the mid

There's quite a bit of expense involved with patents. Trade marks are a little easier and less expensive. I'm sure if this idea takes off, I'll be looking much closer at this end of the biz.

Along the lines of another idea, as this project has developed, it's been difficult for any of us involved to believe that nobody else has made one yet. Maybe I have too high of an opinion of how it works, but I've been in quite a few winery sitiuations in the past decade, and it's like sliced bread for me. But beyond all that, I never thought of myself as an inventor, and really have trouble believing that I could come up with anymore! This was more of necessity being the mother... in combination with a very specific situation I put myself in; ie. owning a pump that had *no* controls and not being able to justify the purchase of the remotes available..... combined with some new devices showing up on the market at the same time.

Thanx for the compliments and the suggestion. Even though it may sound like I've ruled out any patents, as this project moves to the next stage, it will be reconsidered.

clyde

Hi All

The expense of getting a patent can be prohibitive. The cost of defending the patent can be downright ruinous. The issue is not whether or not there will be a copycat product. If your product is good and useful, or more importantly, profitable there will be a competing product in short order. The issue is can you afford to bring a suit to defend your patent. Consider that a good patent attorney will charge $400/hr or more and typically spend 50 to 100 hours before walking into a courtroom.

If you are able to sell 1000 units the first year @ a gross profit(funds left over after product cost) of $1000/unit, you have a gross profit of $1,000,000. These funds pay for marketing, advertising, administrative costs, etc. When all the dust settles if you have a tenth of that number left over you have done pretty well. Unless I miss my mark, 1000 units the first year is a pretty husky goal. So you can adjust accordingly.

Build and market your product. Enjoy the fruits of your labor and start thinking of ways to improve that product once it begins to sell. Then start to think of another product to bring to market. Then you're in the game. It's easier, cheaper, and you'll lose less sleep.

For what it's worth

Frank

Clyde Gill wrote:

Plus, the way the patent lawsuits go is, you sue the infringer after they make money, so you can point out damages and market infringement and so that they have money to actually take.

Thanx for putting this in perspective Frank.

I have to admit, this is much more ambitious sales figures than I had in mind and with less than half that profit margin.

My first year goal is to sell 1/10 of your figure. I'm prepared to deal with more, but have limited expectations given the investment involved.

I suspect your scenario of someone else picking up on the idea is probably closest to reality. Unless by some miracle this just takes off overnight, I won't have the resources to market this like an OEM that already has the channels greased. The most that can be hoped for is building a name for being the first.

BTW, I read the response you sent me about trade shows and took that information in with great consideration too. I'm rarely prepared to respond to emails in that mailbox(it's only used as a spam trap), and combined with a distraction, I failed to give your message proper attention. BTW, sending a message to anything (at) vinic.com will get to me daily (replace (at) with @ and eliminate spaces). We do similar types of sales with our wine, and I've attended trade shows as a patron and an exhibitor (another industry), so your notes about professionalism ring loud. One of the hopes I have is to team up with someone that already has a booth and a full display. This is the *only* way we'd be able to attend the Unified in Sacramento. Seems to me it would work out at *any* show... as much as anything, it would dramatically reduce the fee's involved! Also, we are prepared to have the both properly manned the entire time while I'm out spending all that extra money made from the sales!! ; ^ ) ~

clyde Steelville, MO, USofA