Advice for scaling a high end imported goods business

[inputchip]

Hi everyone, my father runs a business importing high end goods and selling them locally. I won't disclose the full details of his business, but to give you an idea he makes a very good living for himself with very little effort. He has asked me to help him scale this business and possibly take it over one day.

To give you some details about the operation, he sells one type of item to approximately 60 customers, these items are customized and sell for approximately $2500 each. Customers purchase anywhere from 1-20 of these items a year. The customers are typically the same year after year and he has not been able to expand past this limit (although he has put in very little effort to do so).

Areas that I could see improving sales and customer base:
1. The company website was made over 10 years ago and is very poor design and usability.
2. All orders and invoices are done by hand, I would look at moving this to eCommerce if possible, however this may be difficult as each order is custom.
3. He has never advertised, all sales are through word of mouth. I would look at promoting through Facebook and Instagram to his ideal customer.
4. The product is very good and the users of the item use it "professionally". I would use testimonials to further the sales funnel.
5. The items are hand made, I would promote this as a unique feature over competitors.

Any other advice you guys could give as I begin on this journey of helping my father scale his business?

 

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[Walter Hay]

I suggest that as part of your move to scale the business you should give consideration to branding. Does he have his own brand? Does he label the products or sell them on with the manufacturer's brand and labeling attached? If they are customized that is a good opportunity to give them his own brand.

If you want the business to grow you must impart a more professional look. From what you say that appears to be lacking. A first step in this process could be to design a logo, maybe after choosing a new brand name, and from then on maintaining consistency in presentation. That means things such as logo style, fonts, and colors should be consistent throughout. This would include labeling, website, and yes, even invoices.

These steps can aid brand recognition that can help word of mouth advertising. You would need to start by educating existing customers to recognize the new branding, but be careful how you get that message across to them. They must not get the impression that the business is changing in any way other than an updating of the appearance.

If you check out the website for my new branding and labeling book using the link below it might give you some ideas.

Walter

 

[inputchip]

Thank you for the reply Walter.
He has been putting his own brand on the products for the last 10 years or so and has maintained consistent labeling right down to the invoices. Granted his logo could use a lot of work (it was made in MS Word 10 years ago), the current branding he has is likely helping his word of mouth sales as the words professional and quality are tied to this brand.

I guess you could just say his process is a little outdated. Since the items are custom, what do you think of implementing a product design tool on his website such as fancyproductdesigner.com?

Customers could then go on the site and create their custom design without the need for communicating over phone/emails as it is currently done. This will also give the chance for the customer to preview the product before ordering (this is not an option today).

 

[Walter Hay]

Thank you for the reply Walter.
He has been putting his own brand on the products for the last 10 years or so and has maintained consistent labeling right down to the invoices. Granted his logo could use a lot of work (it was made in MS Word 10 years ago), the current branding he has is likely helping his word of mouth sales as the words professional and quality are tied to this brand.

I guess you could just say his process is a little outdated. Since the items are custom, what do you think of implementing a product design tool on his website such as fancyproductdesigner.com?

Customers could then go on the site and create their custom design without the need for communicating over phone/emails as it is currently done. This will also give the chance for the customer to preview the product before ordering (this is not an option today).

When operating my importing business that supplied almost entirely bespoke products my franchisees asked that I incorporate such a design capability on our worldwide websites. Potential customers rarely used that facility, preferring to contact the franchisees by phone or email to discuss designs.

I still like the personal touch. It adds a layer of service that many people still value.

Walter

 

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