One of the Briarpatch clients that presented a difficult marketing problem was a spa in a small town in Sonoma County about 60 miles north of San Francisco. Distance was irrelevant. This is an area filled with health resorts and health treatments.
The problem was that the spa baths were filled with sawdust and mixed in with the sawdust was an enzyme that was eating the sawdust and making it very hot. So the customer climbed into the bath of sawdust and relaxed in a hot but very light surround of delicate pine chips. Not something that Americans were accustomed to.
How to help potential customers understand that this was not only non-threatening but actually beneficial. The treatment is used extensively in Japan and has been for a long time.
Solution: send a free coupon to every health practitioner within a 50 mile radius. The coupon was included with a color photo brochure of the beautiful spa and a letter encouraging the health practitioner to come and discover this new health spa treatment.
The marketing assumed that health practitioners are the key nodes in a vast network of health conscious consumers. If they found something they felt was healthful they would recommend it.
And they did. Business has been great for many decades since.
Find the key gatekeepers and trusted advisors in your field of business and get them interested in what you have to offer.