The situation was presented a few posts ago about people walking along the streets at night and getting hit by cars. The simple solution get them reflectors. Do a quick search for the price of reflectors and you'll realize they're not cheap. I didn't know what to do until I found these in the store the other day.
Now on our routes we've been talking with villagers about the idea and they like it, and the kids LOVE the slap bracelet. We took it to two police stations and they both like it and are suggesting we take it to their chief. We'll meet with headquarters for the region on Monday to present officially to them but we also stopped at a couple places that we're peeling cassava on the side of the road and made a pitch to them. We sold 13 of the 100 I just bought. We sold them for 1 cedi each, I bought them for .20 cedis. Saving lives? Opportunistic? Your thoughts?
9 comments:
this is your mom. you know what I think. If you can save five lives for one cedi--should be obvious what to do.. On the other hand--it is said that people don't value what they don't pay for--so charge them .50 cedi and put a little note with it about pedestrian deaths and how valuable their lives are. call it a life-saver wrapper. love you, mom
Do a cost analysis and sell it at enough profit to perpetually provide low cost bracelets in bulk for everyone and potentially provide a venue to have someone hand them out or encourage people to wear them. You want to charge just enough that they think it is of value, but not a luxury.
Another thought. This would be a great project for an eagle scout project. They could make these easily and send them to you. Mom? Dad? I am sure someone in your ward would do it.
I like the idea. As far as pricing, I think you have to decide what your ultimate objective is. If the most important goal is to save lives, then I would price these as low as possible, while still making sure you cover all of your costs. If your goal is to make a profit while saving lives, then a healthy margin is not unreasonable.
I imagine there is a limited supply since it is from 2008, so the cost may depend on how much making new bracelets costs. Plus, do they work? Sounds like you ought to figure out how much someone other than you could survive on selling them.
i want one
me too
.15 cedi unless you use your profit to "pity the poor," then you can charge 2 cedi
"He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor." Prov 28:8
i like the eagle scout project idea.
A couple questions (several of which have been raised already, but are worth repeating):
First and most important: Do they work? Will the bracelets provide enough visibility to avoid pedestrian injuries? If the answer to this question is "no" any further strategy would fall squarely in the 'opportunistic' camp. If it's "we're not sure," then the next step is find out...and strategic questions like this should take second seat to figuring that out.
Once you've established that it is actually making a difference,the next question (in my opinion) should be "what is the goal here?" The way you structure your system will be determined by what you want to accomplish. Your pricepoint and distribution system will be different if your goal is to distribute as many bracelets as possible as quickly as possible vs. the goal being to set this up as a franchisable business model.
From there, the questions become much more specific: How does the purchase price relate to the customer's average daily income? How does the price relate to the costs incurred by an injury? What is the perceived value of the product to the customer? What's the likely product life, given "normal use" in these particular circumstances?
Knowing what the market will bear then begs the question; if a profit is to be made, what will be done with it? If a 400% profit can be leveraged to provide more value to the community, and sits comfortably at the intersection of perceived value and purchasing power, by all means.
Welp, my comment is longer than your post...Truly, I don't have a concrete opinion yet, not knowing the answers to these other questions. :) Look forward to the rest of the conversation.
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