I totally agree but the problem is many small manufacturers just cant afford this at start up.
WRONG sort of thinking to be in business... shouldn't be a case of what can you afford to do... its a case of what can't you afford NOT to do.
Look at the car makers that have stayed in business over the last two decades compared to the ones that have gone bump.
The ones that have survived haven;t complained about how much it costs to develop new models before they make any money from them, or how much it costs to publisise them... same with almost any business.
It's a fairly sad fact that for every £100 I spend on a consumer product, the biggest slices of the pice go, in order of size, to the tax-man, the money-lenders, then the sales-man, then the people that shunt the products about and market them, with the smallest slice served to the people that actually made the damn thing, and had to invest most in developing it!
So; the artisan making and selling direct to consumer... big opportunity to remove the parasitic load, taking the lions share of the revinue.... and give the consumer a good value product, at a good price, with the most return to the people who do most to generate it.... BUT... you have to know the system before you can beat it.
Know thy enemy... think like thy enemy... out-think thy enemy.
And the successful entrepreneurs earn thier corn at the end of the day by taking risks.... and investing for success.
You have to think big, you have to think positive, and all that [PLEASE DON'T TRY TO BYPASS THE SWEAR FILTER]... but without being unrealistic, nieve or simply living in a fantacy.
And if you have doubts that its 'worth' investing to make your product look as attractive as you can to buyers, and spending what it takes to do that.... then you ought to question whether the product is worth marketing at all!
It was pure serendipty that I discovered the motorbike disc lock; even more that we managed to find the manufacturer... the one I had found was one of just 50 made as an experimental batch.... then more still that clumsily, as a completely nieve engineering student, fell into marketing the darn thing....
Honestly; started with a carboard box on the landing in a shared house; letters coming through the door or messages with credit card numbers on an answer-phone, and packing them between the discarded washing up on the kitchen table!
In eighteen months, we went from a £15 small add in the back of one magazine, to having full two page spreads, and spending £6K a MONTH accross maybe half a dozen or more titles.
End came, when we tried over-stretching ourselves and taking permenant premices, and stretching the catalogue further, and giving up uni to work it full time, the margins were squeezed to provide income and stuff.... added to a little bad luck and more nievity.... the incumbant names had cottoned on to our more innovative products and were selling thier own versions, and adopting our style of marketing.... but still.
Point is; that you are distance selling; and web-site, brochure, magazine ads are your shop window... if people don't see something that they instantly make sense of and are atracted to.... you aren't going to get them through the door.
Good product shots then are probably THE most important sales tool you have... and poor or ameteur pictures, that dont show the product in all its potential glory, are MORE likely to harm your product and product reputation, than a poor product.....
Bit of thought for you.... and no... I never DIY'd any of our prod-shots... I did one set... looked at them, binned them. Called Visa, got the credit limit raised, called a pro! WHO... came round, looked at what we had to sell, looked at our suggested props... my fancy crash-helmet, mates motorbike, shook his head patiently... and when he came to do the shoot.... had blagged brand new motorbike, and brand new crash-helmet and a sexy model, and outfits for her to show our stuff at its VERY best.... and THAT is what you need to do.
Product can be a pile of poo, if its marketed right! (Geez; you wonder how some businesses survive, selling over-priced crap, but we know they do)
Starts with that first contact with your customer, in the promo pics they see, and making the right impression....
Do it half hearted... you'll get a half hearted response, at best.
Just food for thought.
