Written By :Osei Asibe Bobieh-Ansah     Edited by: Jeffery Muhenda

We have come to the end of our R&D (research & development) phase and will be moving on to the testing phase. One conclusion of our findings was we as consumers are ultimately cheap, lets face it if we had the choice between cheap standard products/services and a slightly more specialised product (which is more expensive), most of us would opt for the cheaper products and services.

It’s a sad fact but big companies have understood and exploited this at the expense of smaller businesses.

‘How am i going to compete if i can’t be cheaper!’

Globalisation and advancements in technology have allowed big companies and corporations to undercut small businesses. Big companies have been able to cut major costs by undertaking Unethical methods, which consist of buying in huge quantities from third world countries. How can entrepreneurs be expected to compete with this! These cutthroat firms sell their products at a loss in order to kill the competition. So how can small businesses specifically FLYPRINTS compete?

MARY PORTAS

I was Initially unsure however, after watching ’Mary Queen Of Shops’ on BBC 2 things became clearer. The show is hosted by Mary Portas a marketing consultant for the company Yellowdoor (which she started in 1997). She turns around failing neighbourhood businesses. In the opening sequences of the show she discusses how supermarkets are killing our local shops and she states that:

“We’re sacrificing our green grocers,our bakers,our high streets,our communities for convenience. We’ll miss our neibourhoodshops when their gone and i dont want to live in a Britain that bland” .

MAHAR AND SONS

In the first episode she is called into a small bakery in Raynes Park, London called ‘Mahar and sons’, ’Mahar and sons’ was established in the 1970?s and little has changed since then. Her cakes are old fashioned, she bakes a very limited range of bread and a Waitrose is moving in down the road. What is the solution? ‘Mahar and sons’ Has their own baker on site and Mary suggests that they could use this as a unique selling point and become specialist in making bread, baking everything on site and buy hand (no ready mixed flower). She claims that this would appeal to a more modern consumer i.e. the ‘Professionals’ and the ‘Yummy mummies’ however, after a great deal of effort Mary couldn’t convince the owner to adopt these changes. She was convinced that the recession was cause of her misfortune and that she was not materialistic.

In the clip below Mary takes the owner to an Artisan baker in the hopes of convincing of the concept.

The reason why this woman was in this situation was due to her unwillingness to change. One of my theories as to why this woman fought so heartily against Mary was because of pride. Mary is a direct woman and can sometimes lack tact. The owner frequently says through out the show that she’s been running the business for 36 years. Therefore, this business is more than a business to her it’s her life’s work, her legacy and for someone to come into the business and change the whole ethos would be like asking her to change herself. She has become comfortable and like many old people change scares them, she doesn’t understand the trends of the new market and doesn’t want to. Those who refuse to adapt will die!

So what did i learn from this show. If you want to compete with the ‘big dogs’ you must:

1.Do your extensive research of  and understand your target market.
2.Offer a more specialist range of services and/or products.
3.Enhance customer service.
4. Embrace your differences and make them your unique sell points.

HOW I APPLIED THIS STRATEGY TO  FLYPRINTS

Why FLYPRINTS LTD?

Manufacturing has sadly moved away from the UK to countries like China and Bangladesh due to price benefits and we have sacrificed our morals and industries to make a bigger profits. Child labour and unhealthy working conditions have been bought to light in the media in recent years and those who have been exploiting the underprivileged have been punished.

Creativity, Passion and Convenience.  FLYPRINTS aims to bring manufacturing back to the UK and produce high quality ethical products at an affordable price. We aim to Work with local suppliers to encourage growth in the UK.

PEACE OF MIND – High quality is the critical success factor for every business. A poor quality product can damage a brand’s image. Consequently we offer a 1 year guarantee that if any products are not up to standards or fade/crack after 1 year we will replace it for free.

MARKETING –We also run   an online magazine FLYPRINTS BLOG which Showcases UK brands. Therefore we could offer you free marketing  which would generate more sales which means more custom for everyone.

CLOSE RELATIONSHIP- Because we are a small company we are more agile and are able to dedicate more time to our  clients. We aim to work closely with our clients to ensure their vision is completely realized.

LONDON BASED- We are based in the vibrant in the area of Shoreditch consequently if you are London based you can benefit from gaining more control over the finished product as we can communication more effectively . We can also offer shorter lead times( time taken beginning of manufacturing process to delivery) , This allows you to be more responsive to your customers.

NEW SCREEN PRINTING TECHNOLOGY- Due to the new technology we have invested in our prints are of better quality. i.e sharper edges on your prints and better ink deposit onto the garment. Which makes the design more vibrant. This technology is more efficient and has reduced our costs therefore, we can also afford to reduce our prices which means higher profits for everyone.

GREEN- Becoming more conscious of our environment has become of a higher significance in recent years and FLYPRINTS adopts green practices. i.e disposing of chemicals and ink’s in a ethical way. Using ethically sourced packaging. Offering our clients a more ethical forms printing. This is not only the right thing to do but also commercially viable as a marketing tool.

FLEXIBILITY- We understand how difficult it is to produce a high quality garment and a low quantity. Therefore FLYPRINTS minimum screen printing quantity is 10 garments whereby, allowing our clients minimize risk, test the market and maximize growth.

to watch the show visit MARY QUEEN OF SHOPS

flyprints

Quality AND Quantity