Melissa and Doug started a toy company twenty-five years ago, with virtual no money or a big idea. Melissa had worked in finance, and Doug worked as an assistant to the president in another business. When they met, they knew they wanted to do something with their lives to bring happiness to children, work that was fulfilling and they wanted to use their curiosity and talents.
“If we get up and want to run to work because it is so enjoyable, then we will be successful”, said Melissa in a recent interview on Guy Raz’s podcast, How I Built This.
Small and Caring Audience
Some of the best learning came from their failures and mistakes. They realized that it was important to find a small and caring audience for what they created. In a time where every toy had a battery, they wanted to create imaginative puzzles and playthings where the energy came from the child. If a few children loved their products, they knew that their parents would buy more and tell their friends.
They never worried about scalability. They were only concerned with providing happiness to one child at a time.
It was a simple and naïve idea – but also a brilliant marketing strategy.
It recognized that if you make something remarkable and build the opportunity to go slowly, that you can become successful over time. They were careful not to have investors whose motives were different than their drive for slow and steady success.
Twenty-five years later, Melissa and Doug sell $350 million dollars of battery-free toys and employ 1,000 people. They make superior products and plant seeds that they are harvesting over many years.
Starting a business or trying to grow?
- Maybe reconsider your timeframe. What control could you keep if you decided to grow slowly over time not rapidly overnight?
- When you grow slowly, you are forced to do every job and to learn to listen to everyone in the value chain. What do suppliers want and how can you support segments of a distribution channel by being loyal? How can you make a culture that invites inspirations, happiness, and joy in your workforce?
- Is your product like everyone else’s or is it something that customers recognize as beyond ordinary? Marketing works best when you build something amazing – you can’t add marketing to an average product and expect great results.
- If an entire industry is following a trend (software, battery-powered toys, apps, etc.) could you chart a different course that takes you on the road by yourself? Blue oceans are very different from bloody, red oceans where companies fight over pennies and market share.
Listening to this podcast with Melissa and Doug reminded me of the many interviews my wife and I conducted over a decade as we grew our bakery business, Rachel’s Brownies. Although we sold the business and took a different path, we too always believed in the idea that a remarkable product was the best marketing. I remember being interviewed by Phil Donahue for a national TV show in the late 1980’s. He asked me to describe our marketing.
I reached into my pocket and handed him a fresh, double chocolate Rachel’s Brownie and said, “Phil, this is our marketing.”
When your product is remarkable, it makes your marketing effort much easier.
Is your product development a puzzle to you? Let’s put the pieces together. Call me at 919 720 0995 to get started.
Me, my wife and Phil Donahue.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Melissa & Doug, all rights reserved
