Question from MakoStu

MakoStu writes, “ I hear from many small vendors telling me that if you do business with one big box home center, (say H/D) then you cannot do business with the other say (Lowe’s) – while not said directly, the big boxes seem to make this point in subtle ways. The problem is principally for the smaller vendors not the real big guys like B&D or Stanley. What strategies have the small vendors used to get over the problem?”

Thanks for the question Stu and if any of our readers would like submit responses, please feel free to comment. If a client were to present this question to me, I would suggest there are a number of options open for us to consider.

1. Don’t fight, accept what they are saying and look for business in other areas. Filling the requirements of a big box for a small vendor can be a taxing undertaking. Do it well and prove the value of your product and your brand. Maybe it will be possible later on to expand to the other retailer after you have become established and valued by the first retailer.

2. Ignore what they are saying and run the risk of loosing some or all of that business. This is risky, but if you have the only widget available to the market and you have the capacity to meet the needs of both retailers at the same time, it may be something you feel is worth the risk.

3. Consider building different models of the product for each outlet. This is an age old approach to the problem and has been done for years in different channels of distribution so that competing channels would not have identical products for cross comparison.

4. Consider a branded product for one and a private label for another. This again is another step to avoid direct comparison.

5. Consider a relationship with another vendor where they take a modified version of your product under their label to the other outlet.

Seven Reasons Why New Products Fail

The most optimistic success rate I have run across for new product ideas is about 3%. In other words, 97% of product ideas never successfully enter the market. There are lots of reasons for this low level of performance, but there is a consistency around a few common mistakes that routinely present themselves with inventors and new product marketers. These are not the only reasons, but if you can avoid these mistakes, you can greatly improve your chances for success.

The Product: The single biggest shortcoming in new product introductions is not fully understanding the product, its usage and the target market. A dead give away to this problem is when I ask inventors to define the target market and they tell me, "Everybody." If your target market is everybody, you are doomed to failure. It is like shooting a gun at a bull’s eye. You will most likely never hit the bull’s eye if you are aiming at the whole target.

The Opportunity: One of the most difficult questions to answer in preparing a new product for market is defining the opportunity. Sadly, there is not enough information available about most product categories and if you have something that is entirely new, there are no reference points, but this is critical information for the decision- makers you will be dealing with. You must have some verifiable estimate for the potential of this product.

The Channels: With most products, there are going to be intermediate steps between you and the end user of your product. What Channel or Channels will you choose? What are their expectations? Can you provide what they require? What do they require? Are there any trends that could affect your successful launch?

Your Circumstances: There are usually three factors that each inventor / marketer must understand about themselves before they go to market. Do you know what those 3 factors are and what options are available to best match your circumstances?

Research: Many people think they are marketing their new product idea or invention. The truth is you are also marketing actionable information and knowledge, but where do you go to get that information and knowledge? Once you do get it, how do you put it together?

The Fuzzy Front End: The people you are trying to sell your new product or invention to have a perspective that is different than yours. Do you understand their perspective and can you provide answers to their questions both asked and unasked?

Your Offering: Successful new product introductions require more than just the product. If we all just bought products, we would all be driving the same make and model of automobile. People don't just buy products, they buy features and benefits and image and status. How are you going to package your product for success?

These are examples of just a few of the issues that we talk about at our new website http://www.marketingnewproduct.com. We have even developed a collaborative consulting product call the Quickie Market Analysis to help inventors, and new product marketers avoid these pitfalls.

It doesn't really matter where you are in the process of introducing your product. The Quickie Market Analysis will pick you up where you stumbled and move you toward success. Visit the U.S. Hardware /Hardlines Resource Center to learn more.

 Copyright Bob Cannon/the Cannon Advantage, 2005. All rights reserved.

Byline
Bob Cannon helps inventors, imagineers, importers and manufacturers successfully introduce new products to the Hardware / Hardlines Marketplace. Check out his blog at http:www.takingaim.blogspot.com. Bob can be reached at (216) 408-9495 or mailto: bob@marketingnewproduct.com

This article courtesy of http://www.marketingnewproduct.com. You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.

Marketing New Products - Hardware / Hardlines

Last week we anounced that we were going to be introducing a new website devoted to helping inventors and people with new product ideas for the Hardware / Hardlines industry. Frequently, it can take a long time before the major search engines pick up a new site. Fortunately for us, Google picked us up today. Now people in search of help for their new product ideas can find us quickly on the web.

We stand ready to help all comers, but because of the time and research required we can only accomodate two of this type of client per month. If this is of interest to you, or if you have a friend that we might be able to help, please tell them to get on board quick as the search engines have found our new site and the traffic and interest in our services will increase significantly.

Bear with us. While the site is new and we are adding to it daily, not all of the features are fully functional yet. We hope to have everything up and running shortly. We will keep you advised.

New Beginning for New Product Marketers

Today, the first page of a new website went live on the internet. It is a new site devoted to helping inventors, importers, marketers and people with new product ideas that would like to sell their products in the over $200 billion U.S. Hardware Market. In the days ahead, we will see additional pages added to the site as it grows to become a valued resource and asset to people interested in how to successfully launch a new product into this huge market.

The new site is the result of talking to many inventors about their products. Sadly, many spent large sums of money without ever understanding what it takes to successfully launch a new product. With over 30 years in marketing products and over 20 in the Hardware Industry, I have been involved with many new product introductions. Whether it is power tools, hand tools, bicycles, tricycles, ride-on toys and a raft of other hardware products, I have learned what works, what doesn't and why. Now I am sharing those secrets.

Discover the various channels of distribution that exist to get your products to market. Learn the options that exist for you depending upon your desires and your financial situation. Find out how to present your idea in a way that makes it easy for your prospect to say yes. All this and more will be available at Marketing New Product.