Know who will be your target market and customers include them in your plan

Our target market is independent and small chain merchants that are committed to selling higher end kite products.

We particularly want to focus on accounts that just sell higher end kite products and that are committed to stocking a selection of at least a dozen different kite products.

These accounts we feel offer the best growth potential and will benefit the most by the help we can bring to them in selecting and displaying our higher end merchandise.

CUSTOMER NEEDS

The basic need of target retail customers is to differentiate their store from mass market stores and give customers a reason for shopping their store and paying significant premiums for their products instead of getting a low-end product at a discount department store.

These stores really appreciate stocking a line that is not sold at mass market accounts. They also appreciate dealing with an importer who is committed to specialty stores exclusively, not mass market accounts.

CUSTOMER BUYING DECISIONS

The buying decision is almost always made at an in-person sales presentation. The personal touch appears to be essential for moving buyers to action for this product because at these high end retailers are very demanding about the product quality being stocked in their stores. They insist upon seeing finished products, not just mock-ups or catalogue pages. Some purchases are made at trade shows, but only a small percentage.

Competitive analysis know who your competitors will be:

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

Across the US and Canada there are many firms that distribute kites. The vast majority however distribute only one or two low end kites as a very small part of their overall distribution business.

There are several distribution firms that offer between a dozen and as many as one hundred kite products. These firms represent many different products and the sale of kites represents a very small fraction of their business. These firms also to a wide variety of outlets including mass merchant accounts.

CHANGES IN THE INDUSTRY

The big change in the kite industry over the last few years has been the concentration of lower end kite sales in mass market accounts, along with a strengthening market for higher end kites in upscale specialty accounts.

Current distributors representing larger kite product lines while still selling to a wide variety of outlets, have tended to focus most of their efforts on selling lower end products to mass market type accounts--where their revenue is much greater.

OPPORTUNITIES

While the competition is well-established in, and gives a lot of focus to, current major markets for this product, they are much less aggressively pursuing the higher end kite market. This market offers terrific potential because it has significant growth potential, and the competition is not well-entrenched here. Furthermore, this market differs from the other markets in the many important ways. While this market may not be the largest, it appears a very solid opportunity for a newer competitor.

THREATS AND RISKS

Because we are a small firm, we do not anticipate a meaningful or prompt reaction to our market entrance from our larger and more established competitors. We think a strong reaction from existing distribution firms is particularly unlikely because the primary competitors derive only a very small percentage of their business from kite sales, and even that revenue is largely from mass market accounts that we plan on avoiding. However, we have developed contingency plans for certain reactions that competitors may make. If a competitor lowers their prices on the exact same product we are offering we will match their price on that product. But we intend as much as possible to emphasize products that our competitors are not selling to begin with.