The validity of your business’ product or services, the strategy undertaken, and proof of market comes with customer feedback and sales which is illustrated in my interview with Frank Benintendo. He along with Ernie Symanski founded “The Ultimate Crumb” (https://theultimatecrumb.com) introducing an innovative bakery product offering. Frank stated that “You truly don’t know what the customer’s perception and acceptance will be when you are developing your product.”
His is a valuable reality-based observation as American entrepreneurship has been trending upward as more people form their own businesses and introduce new services or products. Much of this originated from the pandemic as people began to take a deep dive evaluating their current employment situation and considered an alternative direction. Those that took the entrepreneurial pathway developed business plans: defined their customer, projected sales, assessed market demand and the strategies to reach their customer.
With the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicating that about 1 in 5 U.S. businesses fail within their first year of operation, your customer validation of your plan and products is essential. Here are some of Frank’s insights for those preparing to take the plunge:
- Direct Customer Interaction: Frank emphasized how much he learned through direct interaction with the customer through in-store sampling. He found that customers became more engaged when they learned he was the founder of the product and not a store employee pushing a new product.
- Clear Messaging: Frank explained The Ultimate Crumb is just that, “only the crumb.” But their original box packaging and product displays didn’t clearly convey that based on the customer feedback. They modified the tagline to “Just the Crumbs” and are testing response. “Remember they are not looking for your product. You need to make them stop to read the message and learn what the product is.”
- Customer Awareness: Your product or service may have demand but there is a lack customer awareness. Frank mentioned “our crumbs received high marks on taste
but certain store locations sold better than others” making placement critical. - Shelf vs Display:You stand out quicker to the consumer in a floor display rather than being on a shelf in the sea of other products particularly when launching a new product. This requires store approval.
- Build Manager Relationships:Get to know the store managers. Having a new product, they can help with product location and how its moving.
- Selling Direct:When selling direct visit, the store at least once a week to make sure your product is displayed properly and there is enough product. An empty shelf or display can result in losing placement. Shelf and display floor space is a valued commodity, closely allocated by the retailer.
- Turns and Traction:Turns of sales on your product is so important. Keep a close watch on how many products are being sold in a one-week time. The quicker the turn, the better you are in gaining traction and to stay in the store.
- All Stores Are Not Created Equal:If you are in more than one store in the same chain always monitor the sell rate in each store. Gain important insights to determine why the slow selling stores are not doing as well as the better selling stores.
- Have Your Eyes Wide Open: Be prepared to allocate a great deal of time and effort when introducing a new product and starting a new business. It’s a multifaceted endeavor. You are managing the store relations, customer, distribution, inventory, sales, marketing, and communications.