Amen. I had this exact conversation with Janice and Lorraine a year ago after they asked me what I thought.
I really wish that Sarah Hughes, Sasha Cohen, and Tim Goebel--who all wear Klingbeil boots--would do some print ads and/or be interviewed to be placed on the Klingbeil site and in Skating magazine (and other places).
It's not just marketing, it's the product line too. They essentially have one "good" product, which is the custom boot; that market is diminishing as an increasingly sophisticated range of stock boots from a variety of manufacturers makes it far more likely that a skater will be able to get a stock boot that fits nicely and is available immediately - not in 4 to 6 weeks. So, less people need customs.
I see Harlick as the closest "model" to Klingbeil - and Harlicks has a dreadful website. However, they have a strong fan base, and a wider range of boots, and, you're right, they do travel to fittings. I've handled more than few pairs of stock Klings. They are heavy (barring the ultralight), basic, all leather skates, with nothing much in the way of features to them. They are generally far longer to break in than a heat molded skate, and, far more likely to need multiple adjustments for fittings, punching, etc, as they are - old fashioned, all leather skates that have to be broken in the old-fashioned way. Given the choice between "on the ice and go" with a heat molded boot, or "break in and adjust and work them in over a few weeks or so" - which way are most kids and parents going to go?
If you look at a Harlick stock boot, it's much more sophisticated and more more up to date, and have a wider range of options, styles, etc. We won't even discuss the all singing, all dancing Riedells, or the funky trendy Edeas (with their rhinestones and other techno features).
My kids check out the feet of the skaters they see on the TV: SPTeri, Edea, Riedell, Harlick ... they've never seen a Klingbeil. The skaters you mention - other than Sasha, who seems to be in/out of retirement - aren't skaters in the forefront of skating any longer ... I remember Tim Goebels, but, I don't think my teenagers would ...
The other issue, this huge backlog of skates: that may be the entire forward looking market for Klings for the next year pushed back into 2 months of "get 'em before they're gone" orders. I know that the Kling skaters around here did that - they ordered now instead of later, so, what would have been a June order became a January order ... meaning that there is nothing in the pipe for June ... and, if they're that backlogged, any new customers who are intrigued may not be willing to wait around the length of time necessary to get the skates ...
Sorry, I think Don is great, I love the skates he's made for my kid - I wish the world was different - but, maybe it's the MBA in me, I'm just looking at the business model.