MDR and Ferrex


thevaletmaster

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  • 2 weeks later...

Available where? I don't see them in either of your stores (optimumcarcare.com or opti-coat.net).

 

Maybe a good start would to be to give the forum the ad copy or the label blurb so we could know something about these products and how they are used. Perhaps even a new thread entitled "New Products 2015" or "New Products--MDR and FerreX".

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Available where? I don't see them in either of your stores (optimumcarcare.com or opti-coat.net).

 

Maybe a good start would to be to give the forum the ad copy or the label blurb so we could know something about these products and how they are used. Perhaps even a new thread entitled "New Products 2015" or "New Products--MDR and FerreX".

 

Found Ferrex in Australia http://www.optimumcarcare.com.au/product/111/optimum_ferrex.htmlbut is out of stock. Struggling to find MDR anywhere.

 

I completely agree with the idea for new threads about new products

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I completely agree with the idea for new threads about new products

 

I have to say I am completely flabbergasted as to why OPT doesn't use this forum to their most basic advantage. Ron may be a non-technical employee (as I think he has stated) but if the products are "available" he can certainly post what is on the label.

 

This is just basic marketing and has nothing to do with the internet, forums, etc. If it was 25 years ago you wouldn't just send a letter out to your distributors "Now available, FerreX and MDR in these sizes!", you would have to explain what the product was, what it was for, and how to use it, so the distributors would know enough about the product to know whether they wanted to stock it.

 

If OPT thinks it's the job of their distributors to explain what the product is and how to use it, fair enough...but what is the point of this forum then?

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Optimum has never used this forum for marketing but sees it as a place to exchange information from a variety of participants. We purposely try to let the experts and talented amateurs answer questions and I only interject when I can answer something others can't. I can answer 90% of the techincal questions but am not a chemist nor the genius behind Optimum and don't present myself as such.

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Well, I don't know if I'm a "talented amateur", but how could I possibly answer any questions about this product, as there is no information available about it, not even the label blurb? Now, I could buy the product, to enable me to read the label, and then use it, but even though you say they are "available", you have provided no information as to where. I just checked the Optimum "factory" stores, and they are nowhere to be found, same for your Facebook page.

 

I appreciate that you don't want to use the forum for "marketing", but how about some basic product information? What the intended use of the product is, the features, advantages, etc.

 

Put yourself in the place of a newb who wants to learn about the product, comes to the "factory" forum, and can't even find a description of the product? That just makes no sense. No one is asking for a spammy self-aggrandizing representation of these products, just a technical description in the usual Dr. G low-key, no-nonsense way. Which I'm sure is what is on the darned label.

 

I can't believe I'm on the Optimum forum literally begging for information about a new product, but I can't get any because that would be using the forum for marketing?!?! How about we just call it an "information exchange"?

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without getting argumentative, the official labels for these product just became available last week (Christmas) and the product will be added to the online store this week, so Optimum is just now in a position to describe them. Putting that information out earlier would have implied product was available which wasn't true. Given staffing, holidays, and the Optimum low key approach to new products, this was how it played out. This has been consistent with Optimum for the years I've been involved and I can't see any changes in the future. FYI the other side of the label is simply directions - there is not a lot to say about a ferrous oxide or water spot remover.

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Ron - I appreciate your effort trying to bring the forum back. It seems that OPT is trying to get Facebook going too. I appreciate any new information when it's available.

 

Being a OPT guy for about 8 years I've noticed "the company" (not pointing at you) is poor at releasing any news on new products or new versions/formulations, for example : I didn't know there was a clay towel until i saw it on autogeek a while ago.

 

I would just use my post and Setec's posts as feedback, not pointing fingers are starting fires.

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Todd (and Setec) I appreciate the feedback. Optimum is not a "typical" company in it's marketing - I'm the Marketing Director but have no budget. There are things that we should and can get better at and communications is near the top. I believe it's better now and will improve more this next year, but with limited personnel and the growing variety of media, it's difficult to know where to assign the time. The main contributors to this forum have not been Optimum employees and we want it that way, but we struggle with just how much interaction we should have. When is providing information selling (always) and how much selling is appropriate? 2015 will be a very busy and eventul year and we sincerely love our customers, forum members, and contributors - HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Look, I'm trying to be constructive here, but I'm starting to pull my hair out.

 

1. This is YOUR forum, why you are hesitant to have Optimum employees contribute here is beyond me. If this was a forum sponsored by another entity, then touting of Optimum products by Optimum employees could be seen as inappropriate, I don't see how it could possibly be deemed inappropriate on a forum you sponsor, as long as employees identify themselves as such.

 

2. As toddj pointed out, what we are looking for is INFORMATION, not "marketing". OPT has introduced at least 5 new products this year, depending how you count them, but yet there hasn't been one thread here even regurgitating the copy from your store.

 

For instance, you introduced 3 mechanical decontamination products, the black clay and the two clay towels. First of all, I can't find any clay, clay substitute, or clay towels at optimumcarcare.com. There is info at opti-coat.net, if anyone can find that website. So anyway, there is info on the new mechanical decon products at opti-coat.net. However, there is no info, for instance as to the relative aggressiveness of the new black clay vs. the yellow, there is no guidance as to why I would choose the new clay towel over the Opti-Eraser, etc. etc.

 

People come to forums like this to get product information directly from the source, to get into the minutiae of the products and processes, how is that possible if the company refuses to participate? Have you ever spent any time at any other car detailing forums?

 

This is how it might work. You would start a thread: "New Opti-Clay Towels!" and post the description that you have on the store page. Then someone like me might respond: "Hey Ron, those look interesting, but why would I choose that product over the Opti-Eraser? Is the functional surface the same?" and then you might respond "the towel is simply a personal preference choice because some people like the towel approach better, and it does have more surface area, but the material in contact with the paint is the same as on the Opti-Eraser" or "the towel is less aggressive because of the softer backing" or "people didn't really like the Opti-Eraser, but they seem to like towels, so the Opti-Clay towel will eventually replace the Opti-Eraser".

 

But I'm just making all that stuff up because I don't have a clue about the towel because you folks haven't seen fit to even introduce it to the forum. Ditto for the black clay, Gloss-Coat, and now MDR and FerreX. You don't need any marketing budget to post on this forum (other than what's budgeted already for the forum bandwidth and software, and honestly you aren't getting any ROI on that because of what we're talking about), and no one would consider providing basic information to be "selling"...and what would be the point of even making products if you don't intend to sell them in one way or another. The least invasive way of selling is to provide information...but people are expecting you to sell them your product on your own forum, that's why they come here.

 

I think the miscalculation you are making is that if you refuse to provide the information here, people are going to go somewhere else to get it, like a webstore forum where they carry a lot of different brands. Which might go like this: (new thread) "What's Up with the Opti-Clay Towel" (post) "I see Optimum came out with an Opti-Clay towel, does anyone know anything about it?" and the reply might go "well, I had that Opti-Eraser thing and I didn't like it, so I wouldn't bother with that Optimum towel, stick with one of the other brands like x, y, and z clay towel".

 

I don't know how many times or different ways I can say this, this is your forum, you pay for it--explaining your products, their features, their advantages, their use, isn't "selling" in any negative sense of the word. In the old days (25 years ago) you would have a mailing list, you would send out a catalog, or a flyer, or a new product announcement letter. If I had the kind of questions I raised above, I might call your company up, and say "I have a technical question" and I might get put on the phone with you or Dr. G or the guy who sweeps the floor (how would I know, anyway?), and we would have an information exchange. Would that be selling? Today the world is different, and your...er...forum, is your website, your discussion forum, email, facebook, twitter, etc. In the old days, if I called to ask that question you would never in a million years refuse to talk to me because it might appear you were trying to "sell" me...but today, if I have a product question the first thing I might do is come to your forum to ask it...but you are refusing to talk to me. Does that make sense to you?

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