New podcast interview out! I, (John-Kyle), had a blast sharing top tips for sourcing products from China with Kunle Campbell on the 2xE-Commerce podcast.
You truly don’t want to miss this one!
Kunle asks great questions and I share openly about things that often trip up brands, best practices, and ways to save cost.
Catch the episode here, or on your favourite podcast app.
Specifically, we talk about:
Sourcing and Supplier Management
➡️ The sourcing process and the best way to sample
➡️ Things to watch out for when sourcing on Alibaba
➡️ How to avoid being a factory’s guinea pig on a new product
➡️ The difference between working with a trade company and factory
➡️ Why you should find a “plan B” factory
➡️ The “negotiation” environment in China now
➡️ Why you MUST talk to your factories more often
➡️ How often you should be talking to your factory
Product Design and Development
➡️ Whether you should pay outright for your product’s mold
➡️ Is it better to design your product or ask your factory to do it?
➡️ What adjustments we made when scaling our own home goods brand
➡️ How we overhauled our product packaging to lower our COGs
Brand Strategy and Market Positioning
➡️ Thoughts on brand differentiation
➡️ Which service we use to do A/B customer testing
➡️ How we find ways in our brand to make fewer emotion-based decisions
Communication and Negotiation Strategies
➡️ Why it’s important to get sampling right
➡️ Why you shouldn’t be afraid to “rock the boat” with your factory
➡️ Why you want to consider setting up a return compensation strategy
➡️ How we (China Product Pros) help brands source from China
Overall, I hope some of these are helpful to you!
Let me know if you found anything useful or if you have some tips of your own to add.
PS. I finally updated my headshot photo after my kids kept telling me “you look too young in that photo.” 🤣 Hence the difference in what’s shown on the podcast and here (updated) on my LinkedIn profile.
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