Post by Ismail AbdulAzeez on Apr 4, 2022 5:12:33 GMT 1
Nigerian Mini-Importers: How To Test The Demand For A Product Before Importing Into The Country
It is sad that many mini-importers in Nigeria do not have the slightest idea of the level of demand for the product they plan to import. I have been called upon several times by importers to come and help find solution to problems of products staying in the shop or warehouse for years because someone imported them without the slightest idea of the size of demand before doing so.
The reason why I am able to offer help is that I have made such mistakes in the past, and with the experience of hindsight I can smell the mistake from a long distance.
Why do people import products from international ecommerce sites without knowing the size of the demand of the product before importation?
I will give you a personal experience; someone imported a product that was dear to him, I can say that it was dear to him because he liked the product so much that he was showing it to all his friends. He gave me one of the products and I liked it too.
And bam, he became exited and immediately placed order for a large quantity of the product. His belief was that as he liked the product and some of his friends have liked the product too, there must be a huge market for it.
He brought in 10 cartons of the product containing 124 pieces of the product each. He spent quite some money that he borrowed from friends and relations.
The funniest thing was that when the products arrived in the country and it was time for real marketing of the products, none of his family and friends bought the product anymore. He resorted to going from street to street hawking the products without tangible success. At the end of the day, he lost hope in the sales of the product and started to look for the reason for the failure of the product in the market.
What was the reason for his failure to sell the products?
You cannot conclude that a particular product is a hot cake in the market without scientifically testing the product demand in the market. If you base your decision on what your friends and family members told you about the viability of a product, that is one of the sure ways to failure.
Majority of your friends and family members will tell you nice things about the product just to massage your ego and not to make you feel bad. But when the shove comes to push, you will not see them again.
There are methods you must use to measure scientifically whether the product you intend to import can sell in your target market before attempting to import the product. If you fail to go through this system, you are bound to fail.
I am currently helping a businessman that imported a product valued at N20 million without any concrete method of knowing if there is solid market for the product. This mistake is everywhere; if you import a product without a prior knowledge of the availability of the market, you will struggle to sell the product and if care is not taken you will incur big losses.
The big question is: How do I conduct scientific test to know whether the product I want to import has a viable market and how large is the market before committing large amount of borrowed money or my hard earned money?
My first advice is this, no matter how sweet or great you think your idea is, make sure you know some solid facts about the demand for your product or product idea before committing or investing a lot of money and time in the idea or product.
If you make such a mistake, you will be frustrated and in most cases abandon the product or idea. You must be patient and do all the necessary market research and testing before starting.
When you are sure that the coast is clear, then you can move in with confidence knowing fully well that you have all your facts about the product or idea. If you face any difficulty on the way you will know that it is temporary and that within a short period of time the coast will be clear. That is the advantage of starting with scientific facts.
Follow us in the next article as we are going to show you all the things you need to know about this very important topic.
Stay with us.
Our company is one of the best companies in importation business in Nigeria today, we train individuals and corporate organizations on how to do Major and Mini Importation business the right way; if you are interested, please contact the admin of this forum now.
It is sad that many mini-importers in Nigeria do not have the slightest idea of the level of demand for the product they plan to import. I have been called upon several times by importers to come and help find solution to problems of products staying in the shop or warehouse for years because someone imported them without the slightest idea of the size of demand before doing so.
The reason why I am able to offer help is that I have made such mistakes in the past, and with the experience of hindsight I can smell the mistake from a long distance.
Why do people import products from international ecommerce sites without knowing the size of the demand of the product before importation?
I will give you a personal experience; someone imported a product that was dear to him, I can say that it was dear to him because he liked the product so much that he was showing it to all his friends. He gave me one of the products and I liked it too.
And bam, he became exited and immediately placed order for a large quantity of the product. His belief was that as he liked the product and some of his friends have liked the product too, there must be a huge market for it.
He brought in 10 cartons of the product containing 124 pieces of the product each. He spent quite some money that he borrowed from friends and relations.
The funniest thing was that when the products arrived in the country and it was time for real marketing of the products, none of his family and friends bought the product anymore. He resorted to going from street to street hawking the products without tangible success. At the end of the day, he lost hope in the sales of the product and started to look for the reason for the failure of the product in the market.
What was the reason for his failure to sell the products?
You cannot conclude that a particular product is a hot cake in the market without scientifically testing the product demand in the market. If you base your decision on what your friends and family members told you about the viability of a product, that is one of the sure ways to failure.
Majority of your friends and family members will tell you nice things about the product just to massage your ego and not to make you feel bad. But when the shove comes to push, you will not see them again.
There are methods you must use to measure scientifically whether the product you intend to import can sell in your target market before attempting to import the product. If you fail to go through this system, you are bound to fail.
I am currently helping a businessman that imported a product valued at N20 million without any concrete method of knowing if there is solid market for the product. This mistake is everywhere; if you import a product without a prior knowledge of the availability of the market, you will struggle to sell the product and if care is not taken you will incur big losses.
The big question is: How do I conduct scientific test to know whether the product I want to import has a viable market and how large is the market before committing large amount of borrowed money or my hard earned money?
My first advice is this, no matter how sweet or great you think your idea is, make sure you know some solid facts about the demand for your product or product idea before committing or investing a lot of money and time in the idea or product.
If you make such a mistake, you will be frustrated and in most cases abandon the product or idea. You must be patient and do all the necessary market research and testing before starting.
When you are sure that the coast is clear, then you can move in with confidence knowing fully well that you have all your facts about the product or idea. If you face any difficulty on the way you will know that it is temporary and that within a short period of time the coast will be clear. That is the advantage of starting with scientific facts.
Follow us in the next article as we are going to show you all the things you need to know about this very important topic.
Stay with us.
Our company is one of the best companies in importation business in Nigeria today, we train individuals and corporate organizations on how to do Major and Mini Importation business the right way; if you are interested, please contact the admin of this forum now.