Thursday, October 23, 2008

Make a good product, and put your name on it

Many of the companies that I work with claim, quite justifiably, to make the highest quality product on the market. They demonstrate this with references to quality assurance, craftsmanship, and so on. OK. Make sure you put your name on it!

I have a weekend travel bag that I have been using for easily 20 years. Not a rip in it. No wear and tear! Unbelievable. Many of the people I know have asked me where I got it or who made it. I couldn't tell you. There's no name on it!

Conversely, I have been riding the same mountain bike for easily 18 years or more. Many people have noticed (maybe they're telling me something...), and unlike the weekend bag, I CAN tell them who made it (TREK), because the name is right there in big red letters! Now, everyone that has noticed that I am riding a bike that has lasted forever has an impression that TREK bikes last forever!

Probably exactly what TREK wants them to think.

You may be saying that the product you make isn't suited for a brand name, but are you really sure about that? The best furniture in my home has the name printed on the inside of the drawers. You wouldn't put the brand name on the outside of furniture, but what's wrong with inside?

So if you make a product that you want people to believe will last forever, make sure it will, then put your name on it.

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