Playing Around with New Marketing Ideas featuring Alex Furmansky
In Episode 36, Alex Furmansky, founder and CEO of Budsies, shares his expertise on all things Amazon and marketing for retailers, and what his company is doing to be successful in the toy business.
Alex starts off the episode by talking about how Budsies was created, as well as his brand strategy when it comes to the expansion of product lines. He also shares his views on the progressive decline of Toys “R” Us and where he believes retail is headed, especially for consumer products. Alex explains how his unique brand is staying successful against online competitors like Amazon and other toy brands. He goes on to give his thoughts regarding the recent Build-A-Bear promotion, and how his company maintains customer relationships to create an “in-store” experience online.
Tyler and Alex also discuss Budsies' marketing strategy and how they capture the attention of not only the child but the parent as well. He talks about the advantages of using social media to tell a full story versus the idea of traditional advertising. Alex continues to share some of the challenges Budsies is facing due to the unique products they produce, and how they still manage to stick to their mission and give back with their Budsies Pal Program.
Alex ends the conversation by giving his key advice on launching a product and the importance of getting it out into the market and involving the customers.
Join Tyler, Andy, and Alex in this conversation on all things Budsies and how the market is changing for retailers.
Time Stamps
00:00 – Intro
01:16 – What’s in the News | Amazon Alexa
10:52 – Featured Guest Intro | Alex Furmansky
11:00 – Start of Budsies 18:16 – Budsies Brand Strategy 21:16 – Toys “R” Us and the Toy Industry
26:22 – Competing with Amazon and Toy Brands
29:01 – Build-A-Bear Promotion
33:49 – Competing with the In-store Experience
36:35 – Budsies Marketing, Engaging Mom and Dad 41:25 – Customer Acquisition Channels
43:22 – Leveraging Influencers
50:11 – Challenges of Budsies
53:58 – Budsies Pal Program
57:20 – Key Take Away
59:28 – Picking One Channel to Grow the Budsies Brand
1:01:38 – Outro Featured Guest | Alex Furmanksy Twitter
Catch Tyler speaking at a conference near you!
Retail Global - October 10th (Las Vegas, NV)
www.RetailGlobal.com
More on Alex Furmansky
Music
Intro Music – Colony House – Buy “2:20” on iTunes
Outro Music – Skillet – Buy “Lions” on iTunes