A Marketing Question??

[Kingdom_Mines]

Hi,



I am new on this forum and hope to contribute

Anyways back to my question, but first a little about me

I am a major shareholder of a mine in south east asia, dealing in rubies and sapphires.

Now back to the question

You see we intend to launch something of a marketing campaign but i thought i would ask opinnions about it

You see as you know we deal in rubies and sapphires, we wanted to offer these gemstones for free to anyone that wants them and the only thing they do is pay for the courier. The price of the gemstone will be absorbed by us

Whats my purpose for doing this ?

My purpose is so that my market share can be increased worldwide. My hope is that people that receive these gemstones for free will show them to their friends and etc, whom i hope will turn into future customers for us.

My worries

My worries is not so much about my customers but more about the importers that reside in the countries i will send these free gemstones to. They will no doubt cry foul, so i have to worry about the importation authorities. I have to take care not to run afoul of the anti-dumping, cartel creation and monopoly creation laws. So if anyone has good comments about these laws please comment, thanks.

What is being offered for free

2 namibian green sapphires = 0.30 carats total
2 botswana multi coloured sapphires = 0.30 carats total
1 cambodian blue sapphire = 0.10 carats total
1 congolese red sapphire = 0.10 carats total
1 madagascar blood rubies = 0.5 - 1.2 carats total

The total weight would be about 1.5 - 2 carats in total, the market value would be about $210

What is being offered is still tentative but this will most probably be it.

Why do i make the people who order this free gemstones pay courier fees and not absorb them

I do this to weed out any abusers for the system, you see i do not want a single person asking their mothers, fathers or future mother in law to get a piece. My purpose is to let everyone who wants gemstones get them and for myself to increase market share far and wide and not enrich anyone.

My Question

My question is basically how do i go about doing this, my idea is to advertise through blogs and brokers lines that we have. Someone once suggested me to try ebay (but put the price as $0). I am not sure which would be more better.

Another idea some advised mes to try affiliates where if the affiliates get people to want to receive the gemstones, we pay the affiliates flat amount of money say $3-$5 (which we pay out of our marketing budget).

But i am still not very sure whta is the best way, so anyone with good suggestions please jump in.

Will it work

This is the major question, will such a marketing plan work where you hand out your own inventory for free to get a higher market share and try to get more future customers in this age of internet.

So far i have checked no jeweller or mines are currently offering this kind of deal or similar to it, so my competiton might be low, but will there be people requesting it, or will people be sceptical?

Anyone please jump in with any comments bad or good, so i can make an informed decision for my business

Ricky

[inle]

Hi Kingdom_Mines..

Let me summarize for you..
There is only ONE purpose of you doing these free gems, blogs etc etc..
That is: PROFITS through AWARENESS & SALES CONVERSION..

There is ONLY ONE major concern we need to clear before we move to marketing campaigns & strategies & to calculate on your Return of Marketing Investments..

That is: What's your OFFERINGS/VALUES in your products?

PS:
I got a case study of a merchant selling plain marble rocks & manage to sell them at a percieved value of many times than their costs..

Yours are Gems..
Surely we can work on something much precious & valuable..