Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Jim has given some great advice. I specialize in new product launches and think his idea of co-brandinf the color wheel is great!

There are many factors to consider, and, of course, a multitude of avenues to take depending on your available capital, research, etc.

Assuming the wheel is made of either cardboard or plastic, mass manufaturing is an immediate concern. Not to mention marketing strategy, graphics, branding, store placement, and making sure you don't step on the feet of any big corporations by using their names on your product. But this is where potential sponsorship can come in.

At least you can try, and the worst theycan say is "no". Yet, as Jim mentioned, this is where and why you should consider a patent, trademark, and/or copyright on your product to prevent the big corps from saying "no thanks", then releasing their own version 6 months later. Again, the variables and pitfalls are many but it can be done!

Feel free to send me an email if I may be of further assistance.

Good Luck!

-- Jett Enterprises Inc.

dear Dm,

as a woman who goes to the salon once a month, I can safely say that haircoloring is a pain in my rear end. I'm kind of a low maintenance gal with frizzy hair which in turn requires high maintenance. I do not have confidence in my own ability to color or dry my hair. Also, I do not have the time or the energy to dedicate to it.

So what I think I need is an experienced person to do it himself/herself and therefore I spend a fortune for it to look half-way decent. But what do I really need? I need for all of this to become easy and low maintenance.

I don't think I'm alone in this line of thinking. What we gals need is quality results without becoming professionals. We also need it to be fun and relaxing.

So, to this end, here are some options for your idea:

1. Instead of trying to go the commercial route with your idea, why not go the publishing route. Your color wheel, blowdrying techniques, and a guide to the "at home salon experience" could become a great coffee table book.

2. How about selling a "salon experience kit" which also has aromatherapy and hair accessories along with your guides? This would be a good gift idea to sell online.

3. the "know your color scheme" gimmick did wonders for Prescriptives cosmetics. So, i agree with the other experts. You could co-market. But don't be afraid to up-sell. Don't just talk to L'oreal and Clairol. Talk to the big budget cosmetics brands. With your idea, they might be swayed to come out with hair treatment products to sell in department stores.

Best of luck with everything,

Ricky

D,

Your product is essentially a publication, whether it's a wheel or a graph, right? One inexpensive channel for selling it (and maybe test marketing it?) would be a website. You could even sell *ads* on your site to the cosmetics/retailers who are targeting the same customers.

Another thought: Would a local store like Sally Beauty Supply (a franchise I know of here in Texas, at least) let you spend a Saturday talking to their customers? Show them your product, get feedback on things like price and wow-factor, ask if they'd be likely to buy this in a store, if at all.

Lastly, and speaking as a fellow on-a-shoe-string entrepreneur:
ANY advice regarding your pursuit of alliances with BIG players like L'Oreal is good advice to heed, but do it LATER. Trust me on this! You will spend months playing Hurry Up And Wait, and you will not get much attention from them UNLESS you have some proof of the value of your product. Even if you just start locally (which I suspect fits your budget), keep track of customer responses and sales metrics. Your product is not worth much to resellers or strategic partners unless you can tell them things like...

"Eight out of ten women who color their hair at home say they got much better results by using the Tress Oracle."

"Bubba's Beauty Warehouse sold over 1,000 copies of the Tress Oracle in the first month."

You get the idea, I hope.

Good luck to you! And let me know when the product is ready, because I have some grey sprouts that I probably should consider coloring. ;]

- Shelley

Debra, I think trying it out on ebay is a good, no-risk idea. You're right, however, that your guide is probably NOT a product someone would search for... so you need to include words in your title and description that would make your item show up in a list that your target customers are likely to see. For example, I just ran an ebay search on "hair color." Not only did I see 438 items in the result (and immediately saw three salon guidebooks there), I also noticed that there were a LOT of bids on the dyes. That indicates that someone out there is shopping ebay for this stuff!

Use ebay to assess interest in your product at first. You really want to drive traffic to your website from there, plus build "word of mouse" traction with early customers. Also, monitoring the winning bid amounts of several auctions might help you determine a good price point for retail/web sales.

Last word of advice about ebay: Disregard your impulse to list your product at or near the "sticker" price. Start out ridiculously cheap, and at an odd price like 88 cents. You'll get immediate bids, and when people see the bid frequency ticking up, they are compelled to check out what you're selling -- then they'll simply "dye" to have your product when they read your detailed description!! ;]

- Shelley