This article was first created on the 27th of February, 2016 and last updated on the 27th of February, 2016 by Patrick Carpen.
Photo Thanks To:
http://www.freeimages.com/photo/kids-shaking-hands-1532456
Some time back, while I was staying at the Takutu Hotel in Lethem, I ran into a gentleman from the United States. Bob was working as a pilot with “Remote Area Medical”. Remote Area Medical is a charitable organization which services over one hundred countries worldwide. They assist in emergency situations or where medical assistance is needed. Bob was a volunteer pilot and he was staying at the hotel for about two weeks.
During that period, Bob and I became good friends. But we became better friends when Bob was introduced to some of the books I had written. Bob absolutely loved my books. The subject of marketing my books naturally came up. Bob was not only a pilot but also an experienced businessman.
Bob and I started to brainstorm ideas of marketing my books across the United States and Brazil. The topic of “marketing on consignment” came up. Marketing on consignment is, put simply, “pay if it sells” marketing. It’s the practice of leaving a quantity of your products with a shop, store or supermarket and collecting money only if it sells. If it doesn’t sell, you take it back.
Marketing on consignment may very well be one of the most viable and stress-free ways of marketing ever invented since the history of marketing. When someone offers a product on “consignment” he or she signals a strong message to the other businessperson that they strongly believe in their product; so strongly in fact that they will “take it back if it doesn’t sell”.
On the other hand, the retailer has nothing to lose in a situation like this, except of course, a little bit of space. And there’s plenty of free space!
Indeed, I had been marketing other people’s products for years on “consignment”.
Often, businesses may be reluctant to fork out large investments on products they aren’t sure will sell. There’s the fear that the products will be “left on their hands” or “left on the shelves”. Marketing on consignment removes this fear.
At other times, businesses may not have the capital to invest, but may be interested in selling the product for a healthy profit. Marketing on consignment solves this problem.
Marketing on consignment comes with a variety of advantages but it also has its drawbacks. There may be rare cases where the retailer, even after having sold the items left on consignment, takes an unusually long time to pay what is due. On top of the that, the product promoter needs to “do all the investment” in getting their products in front of the buyers.
Nevertheless, marketing on consignment is absolutely worth it, especially when the promoter absolutely believes in his or her product. Marketing on consignment can help to build trust, and as brand awareness grows, retailers, supermarkets and even other distributors may order large quantity of the product “cash on delivery”.
