Starting Your Own Hat Wear Line – Identifying Your Potential Customers
November 10th, 2007 Filed under: Uncategorized — Small Home Business AuthorIt is very important to identity your potential customers when starting your own hat wear company. You can approach this problem 2 ways. 1 way is to have a design concept first, then figure out who might be interested in your product. The other way is to specifically target a market segment, then come up with designs that suit the customers in this market segment. Either way, the product and the customer must match in order for your hat wear line to be successful.
If you already have a design or design concept, here are some very simple ways to identify your potential customers:
1. This might seem obvious. But if YOU like the design, then it is possible that people who are like you might like it also. You then might want to ask yourself the following questions:
- If someone wants to sell you this hat, would you pay for it? How much would you be willing to pay for it? Be honest.
2. Ask 20 people you know if they like the design. Ask them if they will pay to buy your hat. If yes, how much they are willing to pay for it.
3. Visit all the stores that sell caps and see if they carry products that are similar to yours. Ask the manager of the stores what they think of your product. Ask them if they will carry your products once they are made available.
4. Flip through magazines that sell hats; find designs that are similar to yours; then find out what stores sell them. Go check out these stores and find out who shops there.
The information you gather from the above steps should provide you with the following information about your potential customers:
- Their age: based on the people you interviewed, and the stores you have visited.
- Their geographic locations: say you find that ABC store sells caps similar to yours. Find out where ABC stores are located across the country, and there, you know where your customers live.
- Their number: based on the age group and geographic locations, you can then go to a local library and find the number of potential customers based on government census data.
- By finding and visiting stores that sell products similar to yours, you can determine how much potential customers might be willing to pay for your products.
Find out as much as you can about your potential customers. Are they still in school? Do they live alone? Are they single? What kind of jobs do they hold? This type of information can help you tremendously in coming up with marketing ideas for your product. Again, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of knowing what is out there in the market place. This information gives you an idea how well received your product will be and if your design is on trend. It also provides vital information about your competition.
If you don’t yet have a design, but know what type of customers you want to sell to, this market research will tell you what is popular at the moment, and what might be missing in the market place. You can then come up with original ideas and designs that might fill the void.
This might seem like a lot of work, but it is absolutely necessary if you are serious about succeeding in your venture. And if you are writing a business plan to secure outside financing, your potential investors will demand this market data. So go out there, talk to as many people as you could. And good luck! You might also want to check out my other articles or visit my web sites:
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Jackie Or is the owner of The Promotion Factory, Inc. Her company provides custom logoed corporate apparel and custom hats at wholesale price points. The Promotion Factory also provides overseas custom apparel and custom hats outsourced manufacturing services.
