Keep Competition Out

We've all been in situations where we have worked hard to land a client. We've had to sharp shoot the price, work overtime on proposals and art ideas, but at long last we have earned our spot. Two months or a year later it is time for the repeat order. Now the client wants to shop.

Time honored methods of dealing with this problem include charm, persuasion, in-kind services (marketing, special features for free), or volume rebates and such. Here is a really unique approach you can add to add to your weapon belt. Custom molding. I would venture to say that several or even quite a number of the companies that you already do business with have a way to make the product "custom." The Caliifornia Springs Line has the ability to change the shape of the bottle, emboss or deboss one or more surfaces, or change the information in the "grip ring." Click here to see an example. These mold changes cost from $1500 - $5000. This cost can be paid for separately by the client, in which case he owns the mold. Or you can include the cost in the piece cost in which case, you can say that you own the mold. Whichever way you do it, generally it locks in the client to you as supplier. The customer will assume that he would have to pay for a new mold change if he were to go with another distributor.

We have seen this approach result in end users staying with our distributors for four or five years or even longer, when they might have shopped the project. While I use our product as an example, others of your factories can do the same thing.