Got a Great New Lawn & Garden Product? Now What?

By Rick Pontz, President, Lawn & Garden Performance Group, LLC

E-Z Weeder. Power Gardn'r. D-Thatch. Never heard of these products? You're not alone. They all made a big splash when they were introduced, but they all faded just as quickly relegated by retailers to the RGA (Return Goods Authorization) list.

If a major lawn & garden company with a well-known brand name, a well-paid marketing staff and a well-funded rollout budget can't successfully introduce a product into the industry, how can a small or medium sized company pull it off?

Anyone planning to introduce a lawn & garden product in today's competitive retail environment should be prepared for a wild ride. Here are a few of the most common mistakes companies and entrepreneurs make - and how to avoid them:

Gross-Margins

How much gross-margin do you need to finance your orders for one full year? This is just the beginning. The gross margin on a new product needs to be great enough to cover seasonal dating (usually four to six months), cash discounts, introductory allowances, distributor discounts, automatic defective and return allowances, mandatory trade shows, co-op ad allowances, samples for salespeople and accounts, sales commissions ...The list goes on and on, and we haven't even discussed your own company's overhead.

Be Prepared for Success

Be ready for a successful Introduction by being ready with all aspects: Information and material you'll need on the day you announce your new product. That means finished and working samples, displays and point-of-sale material, press kits, a co-op advertising program, advertising schedule, line art, introductory incentives for your salespeople, distributor incentives, videotapes and complete sales kits for manufacturer representatives, distributor salespeople and your own sales and customer service people.

Be prepared in case everyone else realizes your new product is as great as you know it is.

Research, Research, Research

Many companies have spent whatever limited capital they have developing new products that have no future because the initial research was never done. One company sent me a new product, but didn't know that its active ingredient was listed on the EPA's hit list two years ago and is scheduled to be pulled from the market in the near future.

Do your homework! Visit your local garden retailer and check out competition and related products. Spend time in the retailers' stores you're planning to solicit. Research competitive and related products on the Internet. Know what you're talking about - and know your product's market - before you launch.

The "Glass Wall of Distribution"

Distributors of lawn & garden products work on a thin margin and tend to spend their time selling products that are already on the market and have a sales history they can depend upon. They have little time left to pioneer new products. They expect you to create a demand for your product through advertising, public relations and trade show participation prior to warehousing and distributing your new product. Retailers and distributors are more likely to introduce new products from companies where they already do business. Current vendors already know the ropes and are less likely to make costly mistakes for the retailer or distributor.

New product developers may find more success by forming a strategic alliance or partnering with a current manufacturer of related - but not competitive - products. If you do decide to go it alone, you may try to do it in your own backyard first prior to going national. Start with the smaller accounts and prospects; make all your mistakes at that level before you approach major retailers, distributors and prospects.

For Your Protection

A Parting Thought
Introducing a new lawn & garden product will take at least twice as long as your best guess and it will take more money than you want to think about. But that doesn't mean it can't be done.