Using Creative Ways to Create Demand for Your Product
Inventor Story: Peter Hayes Not all new products have a built -in, ready-to-go, customer group.
Although having a ready-to-go customer base is always better, you can
still create demand for a new product with some innovative tactics. Read on...
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A Taste of
Sourcing Smarts
Taken from Chapter 3 of "Sourcing
Smarts: Keeping it Simple with China Sourcing and Manufacturing"
by Edie Tolchin, Don Debelak and Eric Debelak,
this
installment touches on making initial contact with a China factory...
Making Initial
Contact:
After you have created a good list of potential manufacturers (see
previous newsletter), contact them and ask
for references of American firms with whom they have worked with. If they are concerned with confidentiality,
ask for some brand names they manufacture, that you might recognize in US stores.
When they respond, assess their ease in
communication, their mastery of the English language, and their promptness in
replying. If they take a week to reply
to an initial e-mail, that will usually be an indication that they will not be
very good at getting back to you, and this could delay the development of your
product.
Many
Asian suppliers will claim (sometimes for their convenience - they can't be
bothered, they're too busy) that they do not want to violate
confidentiality. But if they are working
with big USA
companies (Walmart, Home Depot, etc.), then you most definitely want to know
this! This is a good thing. A sign of a capable, confident source is if
they volunteer the names of recognizable USA companies they have
manufactured for. Besides, just by
giving a business partner's name, it does not reveal any product details.
If they do not want to give you
the names of USA buyers,
then be persistent and ask them for some USA
brand names (i.e., Disney, Liz Claiborne, America's Pride) of products that
you might recognize in retail shops.
This obviously does not create a confidentiality issue because the
products are already out there!
If
they cannot give you either references and/or USA brand names, don't waste your
time dealing with them. Go with someone who has a proven track record.
Upon receiving a list of references, contact them
and ask how their experience was with the manufacturer. If other companies have had bad experiences,
chances are you will too.
Stay tuned for more information on finding a China
factory on your own from a Taste of "Sourcing Smarts" in our next newsletter. To purchase
"Sourcing Smarts: Keeping it Simple with China Sourcing and Manufacturing"
by Edie Tolchin, Don Debelak and Eric Debelak, go to www.egtglobaltrading.com, www.sourcingsmarts.com, or www.amazon.com. |
