Promoting Local Products: How to Compete Against Cheap Imports
Mar 2nd, 2009 by admin
With unemployment up and the economy down, individuals everywhere are looking to save a few bucks. Unfortunately, this often means people choose products that have been imported from places like China – the cheap stuff – over locally produced high quality goods. If you’re the little guy, you might be wondering what you can do to get a leg up on cheap competition.
The rule of thumb is to raise the perception of value while decreasing indirect costs (not direct costs which can affect (lower) the perception of value). And the best way to do this is to increase the efficiency of your supply chain. First off, if you are not familiar with the difference between direct and indirect costs, here are some definitions:
Direct costs (Answers): costs that can be directly traced to producing specific goods or services; direct costs include the cost of material and labor (i.e. the meat, cheese, veggies and roll used to create a sandwich at Subway)
Indirect costs (Wikipedia): Costs that are not directly accountable to a particular function or product; these are fixed costs; indirect costs include taxes, insurance, rent and utilities, and are also known as overhead
Some other ideas are to build a brand (or lifestyle) around your product or service, to offer value-added items or to differentiate in such a way that people are simply drawn to what you have to offer. Market your product or service along with its story. Remind people that buying local helps preserve jobs, boosts the economy and propels consumer spending. Instead of serving the masses with a one-sized-fits-all solution, consider targeting a niche market - invest time in getting to know your market so that you understand what they want and need. Get creative. Innovative, high-quality products that meet customer needs can compete with cheap imported products.
