Room for growth

Kaynes, 55, came to the family company in 1978, right after college. His father, Robert Kaynes Sr., had married one of the daughters of the founders, and was a vice president.

Since the younger Kaynes became president in the early 1990s, he has had to deal with vexing questions about how to market the product.

The company’s growth had been built on advertising, but sales could not keep up with the rising cost of print ads. As the company cut back on national advertising, its sales continued to fall.

Today, the majority of the marketing budget goes for placement in Internet search-engine results. Those who perform a Google search on the term “shoe bronzing” will find American Bronzing Co. at the top of the list.

The product can also be ordered from certain Babies R Us stores from a catalog located near the gift-registry stations.

The silver-restoration service gets marketed through jewelry stores across the country.

The restoration business also has a strong local component. Central Ohio customers can drop off silver at the Alum Creek Drive location.

Each January, local customers get 25 percent off of silver work.

But those marketing efforts do not deliver the results Kaynes would like to see. He wants to improve his social-media marketing and begin advertising on parenting blogs.

“I’m optimistic that there is opportunity out there for growth,” he said.