Posted by
Ryan Watts
on
11/03/2011
Over the course of the past few years, a proliferation of retail businesses have been started by young people. In a Guardian article published in 2009, a professor at Lancaster University Management School stated that the current generation of entrepreneurs “understand that jobs aren’t for life any more”, and that “they have to create their own jobs because big companies are getting smaller.”
It’s a tremendous feat to set up in business. A recent study of 1,700 people aged 18-30, undertaken by the Prince’s Trust and the Royal Bank of Scotland, found that 78% of those who responded “had a business idea”, and that 41% “aspired to set up in business”. Moving on from harbouring aspirations and ideas, to actually implementing them, brings with it a great number of challenges and obstacles. Does the idea address a current need or gap in the market? Will it be well received by its target audience? What can be done to give an idea, or a product, the best possible chance of succeeding?
In any business, in any industry, those entrepreneurs who build up a good network of contacts and teamworking skills, to overcome the issues which arise from identified weaknesses in knowledge, will be very well-placed to succeed. This is true of the retail industry in particular. A product might be anything from revolutionary to gorgeous – or its purpose might simply be functional – many ideas for products aren’t even new - but if the demand is present, the potential is there for it to succeed.
Many, however, are the desirable and/or useful products that deserve to succeed and, for a variety of reasons, fail to do so. Strong marketing is required, with its various elements combined to create a captivating and interesting brand identity. To put it at its simplest: Product. Price. Promotion. Place. Products that benefit from collaborative efforts across different businesses, where appropriate, can often stand a better chance of being marketed well, tapping into their identified potential.
Where do the Packshot People come in to this?
Well, as outlined in last week’s blog post, we specialise in the promotion of products photographically, bringing expertise, professionalism, flexibility and a quick turnaround to the task of photographing products for retail, for every purpose from brochures to e-commerce. We also bring excellent value for money – offering our services, as we do, from £9.99 per shot.
Showing off your products to the world can be cheaper, simpler and quicker than you might think – and important, too. As I have mentioned before, good photography can be a firm indicator of confidence in a product.
Have a look at our studio facilities here.