In Reply To:
Personally I don't see doing something BIG at Kona as a great strategy. For the most part, you have people at the pointy end of the curve, probably with years of experience, and who have their nutrition worked out. Further, I would think that most of the people there have been around the scene long enough to know about you, and are either using your product or have decided against it for some reason. As such, I don't see a huge ROI for you in winning converts - kinda like bringing coals to Newcastle. So other than the protest statement for being banned - I think it is a money loser. Focus on the other WTC events where you have more of the great unwashed masses who may not have heard of anything other than gatorade or powerade.
Of course, this is also an opportunity to team up with some independent races - B2B is pulling in nearly 2000 people now, the Rev3 market is looking good, and there are a few others out there that pull good crowds especially at the 70.3 distance. You could have something like "Infiniti - for athletes who think" and appeal to those that choose to not do WTC. You could possible even co-opt the current tea party "Don't tread on me" flag, with the snake coiled around your product logo. Same applies to working outside WTC venues.
One of the biggest issues I see with the product is the web only nature. My personal example - I do not do well on gatorade. So when I was looking around I came across EFS in our local shop (Founder was involved in setting up the tri shop here). So I have easy access to replacements - prices are comparable to yours and no shipping costs. You are very dependent on word of mouth referral to get people to your website. Product on the ground gives people a chance to experiment and compare. Many people will do better learning about a product if it is on hand, so perhaps you need to consider a distribution market as well.
I agree with this.
start with some distribution of your ready-made mixtures. Make sure you have a flier or some other material with every bottle that lets consumers know that they can customize it any way they want on your website.
I'd been racing for years before I heard of you...word of mouth.
Get the word to the masses in the LBS's and other stores. Make sure the education is there too.
"Thank you for your purchase. We appreciate your business. In an effort to keep our consumers informed, please be sure to visit our website where we have event-specific mixtures as well as fully customizable blends for your nutrition and taste needs."
They banned you...good for them, bad for you. You got screwed...don't follow that up by making an emotional decision that will end doing little for your business at best, hurting your bottom line at worst...and possibly getting your company sued.
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