Not too long ago we published an article titled “Trust me I am a STARTUP”. The post discussed the issue of giving a chance to companies introducing new products, technologies, and other innovations to the market (here’s the link:“Trust me I am a STARTUP”, take a look).
Towards the end we asked some important questions:
Why didn’t anyone give them a chance?
What could’ve been done to spark the sales of the product?
There are many reasons for this state of affairs. Still, this isn’t the time and place to analyse all of them. From our standpoint, the most damaging aspect was the erroneous strategy for the product sales.
Oftentimes, companies are jumping into too deep waters. They analyse success stories of similar ventures and reach a conclusion that since the particular strategy worked once under analogous conditions, it would be a good idea to apply a similar, or even the same one again. Sadly, these magic bullet strategies usually work best only the first time. As soon as they get imitated over and over again, their efficiency drops.
Here’s where we see room for a fundamental improvement. Instead of replicating, it’s better to come up with a solution based on your offer’s strongest competitive advantage. Importantly, it’s not just about the product itself. If the business in question would’ve gone this way, it would’ve been clear to them that it’s better to start the promotion from ground up instead of crashing into the doors of major players.
Our experience shows that early on you should rather launch small-scale sales than count on making a buck by working with large distributors. Any fresh business relation allows you to modify the offer, generate prestige, and build trust. Most importantly, it opens doors to handling negotiations on equal terms. Big companies are more willing to use a proven solution, even if some friction may appear along the way, than a solution that’s been perfected forever and is only about to be launched.
Keep that in mind when working on your projects!
Wish you lots of business success,
Sulma & Sulma
#KeepGivingBack
