What do you think about selling "Wall Fountains"?

12 replies
Hi fellow warriors,

I need your opinions & criticism badly please.

I just started to design & manufacture and sell "Wall Fountains". There are many manufacturers for this in USA, but I live Europe and there is almost no manufacturer here. I thought these fountains would sell good at least in my country.

I created a landing page and throw some PPC ads on home improvement sites. CTR and traffic is good but sales are not good at all to sustain this business. Close to zero.

I even lowered the price to almost the cost of the units to see some progress but it didn't change the figure.

I assumed wall fountains are selling well on USA due to the number of manufacturers, but when I examined them today I see they are not mentioned in forums, they have minimal facebook likes, almost no reviews etc etc...

Is this a dead business? Or will it take long to introduce this to people? Because nobody here knows what a fountain is.

What other ways do you recommend for selling this?

Thank you!
#selling #wall fountains
  • Profile picture of the author kebertt
    I can't help you with your questions regarding the EU market, but I know if I was marketing your products here in the US I'd be contacting businesses and residents directly whom could benefit from them.

    Right off the bat, I think of contractors - the people installing them. It sounds like you're more into the design/manufacturing aspect of the business, so this would be a good place to start.
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  • Profile picture of the author PanteraIM
    By wall fountain do you mean like a fixture on the wall which has water running down it?

    I think you need to narrow down and think about the sort of buyers you are targeting. Are you doing retail or wholesale? Who would the end user of your product be? What sort of income, where would they live?

    Maybe you should research your market a little more and go after the people selling to these people already. I think I know what you are talking about, and I think some niche building companies would be selling these. I sometimes see them in corporate buildings and big houses - is this what you mean?
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    • Profile picture of the author donza
      It's impossible to give any advice without seeing your designs. Maybe they are ugly. If that is the case then no matter how low the price, how good the marketing you will never sell them.
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      • Profile picture of the author John Durham
        One problem is your keyword.

        Nobody calls them wall fountains, we call them "drinking fountains".

        Here are three leads for you. Doesnt look like a huge market... I mean if you are selling "windows" then every commercial office complex building has 100 of those... every home has 10 of them...

        But with drinking fountains, every commercial building with 100 windows probably has 3-5 drinking fountains... if any.

        You really only have the construction market... and once someone has a drinking fountain it's unlikely that they are ever going to change it out for a new brand... It's the kind of thing you only buy once. Doesnt really have refillable parts... I dont see the backend.

        I dont think its a hopeless market, but Im sure there are ones with alot more demand:

        For instance:

        Here are three current buying leads for "drinking fountains" on one trade site:

        http://sourcing.alibaba.com/rfq_sear...plier=supplier

        On that same trade site , here are 536 current buying leads for "windows":

        http://sourcing.alibaba.com/rfq_sear...plier=supplier

        To confirm my suspicions about the key word, there is only ONE buying lead for "wall" fountains, placed by the same guy who posted one of the 3 the buy offers for "drinking" fountains, where there are 3 buying offers.

        -John

        Ps. The manufacturer stays in business somehow, so surely there is a market, but they also probably manufacture other things aside from drinking fountains.
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  • Profile picture of the author Khemosabi
    John, I'm not positive, but I think the OP meant these:

    Wall Fountains | Large Natural Indoor & Outdoor Wall Water Fountains

    I know landscapers install them also, not just contractors.

    ~ Theresa
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    • Profile picture of the author John Durham
      Originally Posted by Khemosabi View Post

      John, I'm not positive, but I think the OP meant these:

      Wall Fountains | Large Natural Indoor & Outdoor Wall Water Fountains

      I know landscapers install them also, not just contractors.

      ~ Theresa
      ROTFLMAO!!!!

      Lol! Im so dumb sometimes. I would delete it but this is too funny to me... lol

      Just trying to help...sorry, please disregard my posts. lol

      Ps. Those are pretty cool. I can't see why EVERYONE wouldn't want one!
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      • Profile picture of the author donza
        Originally Posted by John Durham View Post

        ROTFLMAO!!!!

        Lol! Im so dumb sometimes. I would delete it but this is too funny to me... lol

        Just trying to help...sorry, please disregard my posts. lol

        Ps. Those are pretty cool. I can't see why EVERYONE wouldn't want one!
        If it makes you feel any better I thought the same thing until I did a google image source. When i saw that wall fountains, were not drinking fountains, I thought"Jeeze lucky I didn't post my thoughts on drinking fountains. I would have looked like a real dumbass"
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    • Profile picture of the author sandalwood
      Originally Posted by Khemosabi View Post

      John, I'm not positive, but I think the OP meant these:

      Wall Fountains | Large Natural Indoor & Outdoor Wall Water Fountains

      I know landscapers install them also, not just contractors.

      ~ Theresa
      So that's what those things are called. Really neat to say the least. I hope the OP can get his stuff together as these are great items.

      Tom
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  • Profile picture of the author Khemosabi
    John, you crack me up! Wall fountains are cool! And honestly, I thought they were wanted everywhere, not just the US.

    Have a fun day John! :p

    ~ Theresa
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  • Profile picture of the author vndnbrgj
    Can the OP provide a link to the site?
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  • Profile picture of the author DaniMc
    You need to forget about selling these direct to the consumer. It is very difficult to sell direct from manufacturer to consumer. These are completely different skill sets. This is why there are large distributor networks.

    You need to start contacting these distributors and get into retail stores and catalogs. Then you can sell them in volume. If you are a small one person manufacturer, then art shows, trade shows, and home/garden shows should be in your marketing budget.

    Have you considered selling these into the US market? You could charge quite a premium for custom, one of a kind, hand made, European fountains. I know one store who sells light fixtures from Europe for thousands of dollars. These are ordinary wall fixtures. But, they are European and look nice so the rich people spend $100k for lights in their new home.

    You could become very wealthy selling these for a high price to high income Americans who are building new homes. Begin contacting and marketing to American architects and high end home builders.
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    • Profile picture of the author John Durham
      Originally Posted by Dan McCoy View Post

      You could charge quite a premium for custom, one of a kind, hand made, European fountains. I know one store who sells light fixtures from Europe for thousands of dollars. These are ordinary wall fixtures. But, they are European and look nice so the rich people spend $100k for lights in their new home.
      Sam Walton always said some people will pay ten cents for a mere "comb", and then other people will pay $1.00 for the same comb advertised as a "super detanlger" comb.
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