mix_mash opened this issue on Feb 09, 2009 · 68 posts
Morkonan posted Sat, 14 February 2009 at 12:01 AM
( favarel, I want to use your store as an example of what I discussed in my above post. My apologies for taking such liberties. However, your excellent items are easily seen to be demonstrative of the principles I mentioned.)
To others:
If you are interested in the principles I discussed above, you will may find the following "Case Study" beneficial.
Let's look at faveral's store. http://www.renderosity.com/homepage.php?page=4&userid=57980
Well, at first glance, it doesn't seem like much, does it? He has TWO items for sale. If one was simply judging the worth of a product based on how much the manufacturer has produced, one may not pay much attention - After all, it is common to think that "He who has a lot to sell must have a reason to sell a lot!" Unfortunately, that is not always the case. K-Mart has a lot to sell. WalMart has a lot to sell. But, their sales are based on price-point and saturation, amongst other things. In THIS market, the Poser market, those principles simply don't apply.
So, let's apply what I mentioned above to favarel's items.
http://www.renderosity.com/homepage.php?page=4&userid=57980
Quality - Click on either of the two items. What do you see. Immediately, you see a very high-quality render of one of the items in the set. Because of that high-quality render, you are going to immediately get a bit of "implied quality" associated with the rest of the products. In fact, the renders are so excellent and the way the product is displayed, you're going to be drawn into clicking on the other pictures just to see what else is hidden behind the curtain. You will not be disappointed when you do that! The quality of these products is very evident. The texturing and modeling is superbly represented in these sample images and obviously of very good quality. One can be reasonably sure that anyone who produces products that can look as great as these would, most likely, pay similar attention to the quality of things we can't see concerning this product (the actual mesh, how it works in Poser, etc..)
Desirability - There may be some question here concerning desirability. After all, not everyone needs a canoe or various trapping items. HOWEVER, because of the way that the products have been displayed and because of the obvious quality, there is another force at work here - Marketing! The quality of these items and their Uniqueness (discussed below) heavily influence a desire to actualy "want" these items. Sure, you may not have a use for them right now. But, what if favarel "creates" a desire for that use simply because of the quality and presentation! That's a good thing for everyone! If he is successful in creating a desire for his items, then he will be giving enjoyment to others and reaping the rewards of serving the customer. Favarel has also created something that has high-desirability in a nich-market. Look at that canoe! If you needed a primative canoe, where are you going to go? Favarel, that's where! Look at those bucksin knives and sheaths! What about those pelts! If you had a desire or a need for something like that already, favarel's items would be at the top of a very short list! There are certain advantages in smaller demand markets and being at the top of the list of desirable products in that market is always the best place to be. If anyone needs wicker baskets, pelts, a nice primative canoe, buckskin pouches/sheaths, etc.. Favarel is going to stand out from the crowd.
Uniqueness - I have never seen tanned pelts that were anything more than a primative with a texture on it. These are unique! Look at those buckskin knives! How many are out there to begin with and how many have that particular look? Look at the fringe on those. How about that powder-horn? It's awesome and even has a small dummy-chain for the cap! Most powder horns are nothing more than a horn. What about that tanning hoop? How many tanning hoops do you see out there and do any look as good as that? Who else has done both Beaver AND Bear traps? !! Unique? There's "unique" stamped all over favarel's items! These aren't cookie-cutter mini-skirts. These are very uniquely produced items. For instance, look at the baskets. They're not all simple cylinders! They have shape and form that are unique. Odds are, if one of favarel's baskets is in a render, someone who is familiar with his products will recognize it as being his - It is unique. Favarel did a musket as well. But, it's not just a musket! In fact, that's a Kentucky Musket (Also known as a Kentucky Long Rifle.) THAT gun is the symbol of the Pioneer in American folklore and history. He didn't just do a standard musket.. he did a Kentucky Long Rifle AND provided the horn and bullet bag. Unique is stamped all over these products.
See how that works? Favarel's items may be esoteric but, they are highly desirable in that market, of obvious quality and very, very unique. There is -
an attention to detail (influences uniqueness and quality)
an obvious focus on product quality (influences quality, desirability and uniqueness)
a very demonstrated "knowledge" of what his potential customers would desire in those niche product packages (awesome Kentucky Musket favarel! ) - many items are included in these packages others may not have thought about including in the same way (influences desirability and enhances quality and uniqueness as well)
In short, favarel has nailed all of the primary principles I discussed above. He is perfectly in-tune with what any producer should be aware of in this market. So what if he has only a couple of items? That is up to him. But, I guarrantee you that if anyone out there starts looking around for anything in the genre favarel has chosen to produce for, they will WANT to buy his products as soon as they see them.
Great products favarel!