Rumination After A Class

Somone made a commnet in my online class that got me thinking... I don't quite recall who said it, but it was something to the effect that "just because people express excitement for your product does not mean they will ever buy it."

I could not agree more. In fact, I think it is a common problem, I address it in the book as "mother-in-law" marketing. We talk to people who naturally agree with us or are merely sympathetic, and they encourage us to the point we are delusional as to what the demand may be for our product or service or whatever.

How to protect ourselves from self-delusion while starting up a business?, We protect ourselves by only ordering from the supplier what we have enough orders from customers to cover. And then we repeat as necessary.

Now, those retailers to whom we eventually return with samples are neither friends nor relatives, and not inclined to flatter us. Quite the contrary, they are inclined to be clinical and clear.

What we do have going for us is the fact when we are first showing our product we are doing so to cold, hard buyers. Second, we are showing something new, that they are likely to order merely because it is new and different. Yet, they WILL NOT take any risk, hence their negligibly small orders, what I call "confetti orders," because the buyers throw these orders out like confetti.

Here is your problem... you can get those "confetti orders" that all retailers throw out, but you must get enough and in a workable amount of time, or the deal will not work.

(Of course, if you cannot enough, or timely, then your problem is in the design of the product, and you must redesign further based on what market feedback you've received while failing to get enough or timely orders).

Happily, just about any buyer will try something that offers no risk and is something the buyer already has identified as "a good idea and does not exist." And of course this is why the supplier overseas will not go around you, it makes no sense for the overseas supplier to fill such small orders; nor will your customers go around you to the factory direct, to buy such large quantities. You eliminate risk by buying a minimum from the supplier, which is to way to large for the retailer, and breaking it into minimums way too small for the supplier to ship. This is just one of many solid values you provide and for which you get paid.

Those companies you see thriving did it this way, and so should you.

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