Tammi's World

Seeing is Believing

By now, if you've read hear more than once, you know I sell stuff.

Cute stuff. Stuff that kids can make or play with. Dolls you can dress up and play with. Bears and other plush animials that you can cuddle and make your own.

CUTE stuff.

And day in and day out my job is to get retailers to carry my really cute stuff so that consumers can buy it.

It's a simple equation.

But - I'm having a hard time getting retailers to realize just how much consumers will love it.

I wish I could video tape the shows. We have models everywhere. And when folks see what everything looks like they can't get enough. I'm not allowed to sell direct to consumers so I can't let them take anything from the booth. But they want it. And they are willing to pay for it.

All because they saw the finished product.

I tell my buyers over and over again how important it is to display the finished product. You cannot expect folks to look at the picture and KNOW. That's asking a bit much for the day to day shopper. In this society we don't want to use our imagination when we are shoppping. Especially if you are out in a store with a child or two. It's got to slap you in the face and grab your attention.

It's not that people are stupid. Or lazy. It's that they are busy and distracted. And in this world you have to make it as simple as possible. Easy. KISS.

Even more than advertising in the papers or television, just show 'em what it looks like. It's bright. It's colorful. It's cute for cryin' out loud.....

Sitting in the dark last night, prayin' for sleep, that whole thought process kept rolling around in my mind. Don't tell 'em. Show 'em. Seeing is believing.

And I realized how true that is overall. I may believe you if you tell me something is good or nice or beautiful. But when I can see it and touch it my own self, it's suddenly REAL. It's factual.

That kind of makes me sad. Remember the days of true story telling? Remember how you could sit around a campfire and hear a scary story and really be FRIGHTENED? Or someone could describe a sunset and you could SEE it?

I miss the days of imagination. I miss that innocence.

Posted by Tammi at February 2, 2007 07:41 AM | TrackBack