What does it take to break in?

[carol993]

Hi all
I would love to hear your comments about why it is that new products introduced into the animal world (especially equine) are viewed with some much skepticism? Do you believe that if something is cheap, then it's not a quality product? We have a new product which is cheap (we could over price it, but so many equine products are over priced and we want everyone to be able to afford to use it), easy to use, easily available and best of all...actually works!! We have had extensive lab tests done and field trials conducted so we have plenty of evidence to back up our claims with regards it's abilities....so WHY oh why is it so difficult to get people to use it??? We KNOW it heals open wounds (even to the bone) rapidly with minimal and often no scarring at all and the hair grows back the original colour, not white.... it heals mud fever, rain scald, all kinds of skin complaints, thrush and believe it or not, strangles amongst other really serious infections and diseases! The active ingredient is a natural one, there are no allergic reactions, no danger of overdosing and is completely safe to use and handle. I use it on my horse for pretty much everything, as it is multi functional, it has even destroyed the melanomas he had on his tail which were pretty big when I bought him and had been there for some time. We have given large amounts away to people to try and all have had positive things to say when they have used the product correctly, so what does it take to turn people around from using the older, dated types of products which don't actually work that well? I would appreciate your comments as it would really help with our advertising and marketing plans.

 

[mimi14617]

i think the key thing is gaining the recognition of key opinion leaders. Why not approach vets as they will reccommend products which work for them. Is your product a POM-V? Peer reviewed published papers will get vets on board if there is no previous research. If it is a non POM then maybe approaching well respected stores and training their staff to sell it for you alo advertising (web/magazine))? Apart from the above (which i am sure you know already) As with anything in the animal health industry change can be slow but if you have enough people on the floor spreading the message and the recognitoin of opinion leaders- you will reach customers!

 

[carol993]

Thanks Mimi
We wanted to avoid going to vets, purely because we want this product to be available to everyone. Once vets get involved, they would not want the product freely available to the general public, otherwise it would not be worth their while investing in it, especially if the client could go out and buy it for themselves at the correct RRP and not the ludicrous prices charged by vets! We have had interest from them, but for the time being, we will abstain! Thanks for the comments though.....

 

[JFTDWS]

Hi all
The active ingredient is a natural one, there are no allergic reactions, no danger of overdosing and is completely safe to use and handle.

Why do people believe that "natural" is the same as safe? Last time I checked, foxgloves, ragwort, spitting cobra venom etc were all natural substances... As for no allergic reactions, unless you've tried it on every horse in the world, you just can't say that... I don't agree with the OP's assertion that people in the horsey world don't try new things, in my experience there's a great deal of "jumping onto the band wagon" goes on and new products are often believed before they are scrutinised. If your product is as good as you claim, it will take off... If it doesn't then I think it reflects the product more so than the horsey world.

(This isn't intended to be harsh, but you asked for people's opinions on the matter, and this is mine. I would never buy a treatment that made a scientific claim I thought was unsubstantiated, nor would I buy something because it claimed to be "natural" because that means very little in terms of efficacy or safety, and in my case, that would be why I wouldn't try your product. i.e. what I'm saying is, present the data accurately in the marketing and don't be pulled by meaningless buzzwords - then your product will be judged on its merits).

 

[JanetGeorge]

Hi all
I would love to hear your comments about why it is that new products introduced into the animal world (especially equine) are viewed with some much skepticism?

Probably because we've seen it all before; possibly because the claims made are usually pretty wild and not backed up by any believable 'evidence'!

I recall when I was at BHS and - amongst other things - responsible for editing and publishing 'British Horse'. The manufacturer of a certain 'miracle' product wanted editorial to accompany his advertising. I agreed that we would try it at the BHS Rescue Centre and - if it worked - give him editorial ('Tried and Tested'!) Well, we tried it - and the view of the Centre Manager was that it DIDN'T do what it said on the tin! It was NOT a miraculous cure for mud fever (which was its main claim) in the ponies it was tried on - so I declined to give it editorial. He got right snippy - tried DEMANDING it (so I offered to give honest editorial saying it was b***** useless!)

If you're going to claim it heals wounds, then it will need to be licensed etc. After that, I would suggest you provide it free to some of the big Rescue Centres and ask THEM to try it - and if it works - give you testimonials.

The ONLY product I have found that actually DOES most of what you claim for your 'potion' (including healing DEEP wounds with no proud flesh and minimal scarring) is Lotagen lotion - which is NOT licensed for sale in this country (presumably because it is rather expensive to do so in the UK) - it is available in mainland Europe, Australia etc and is made by Bayer - so has a BIG name behind it!

But when you claim it cures (or even treats) Strangles, then sorry, sweetie, you just failed the credibility test BIGTIME! And removing melanomas is also stretching the limits of our gullibility! Horse owners CAN be a bit dim at times, but most of us are not downright stupid!

 

[Alec Swan]

Hi all
I would love to hear your comments.......
....... it's easy to use, easily available and best of all...actually works!! We have had extensive lab tests done and field trials conducted.... .......it heals mud fever, rain scald, all kinds of skin complaints, thrush and believe it or not, strangles amongst other really serious infections and diseases!.......

Could you release the results of the lab test and field trials, and then importantly, reveal the qualifications of those who carried out such tests and trials?

In my restricted experience, "cure-alls", never work. Anything which cures mud fever, and strangles, would be viewed with a degree of scepticism, by most, though ever willing to learn, I would be interested to hear of such a product.

Alec.

 

[tristar]

melanoma is a cancer, if you can cure that maybe you can invent something to get rid of bloomin flies,
i'm not being funny, i really mean it