You are not your market

That's what I was told at an e-marketing seminar, and it's so true.

I'm coming to the conclusion that my children and my taste are both radically different to the rest of Australia!

So, some changes - most of the markets I do are mainly kids and people wandering around on a weekend, they don't carry a lot of cash. So I'm making up little things to add to the stall that cost less than $5, selling a few of those will probably be easier than nappies and also quicker to make!

The real life shop is a different market again. Some of the feedback from them was that people wanted more neutral nappies, which confused me because I'd given them mostly gender neutral prints. But after thinking about it I realised a lot of their customers aren't parents, they're pregnant. My nappies are one-size, so I tend to look at outers that suit older babies or toddlers, because they will only be little babies for a few months. But the people shopping there are preparing for their tiny little newborn, so they want sweet prints. I think I've got a solution, I have some solid knits in mint, mauve, apricot and lemon, the traditional 'we don't know what we're having' colours, and I'm going to make the bulk of the nappy from those but with the top and cover flap in a co-ordinating print. That should make them more appealing to parents-to-be, but still work once the babies grow out of the teddybear and rattle stage. I was planning on doing some nappies with the different fabrics anyway, it's just been moved up the priority list.

I was working on a cover next, seeing as I've introduced the fitteds and am using them myself. Much easier for people to have everything in one place and know that they will work together. However I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and admit that snappi nappies are just not popular and dust off the side snap design I was working on ages ago. Obviously other people don't have the same fitting issues we have, or have different things they look for in a nappy. I'm getting a bit sick of the "snappis are too complicated" idea. Personally I can do up a snappi in about 2 seconds flat on a wriggly bub, but getting velcro on properly or finding all the snaps takes me ages. But I don't say they're too complicated, I just accept that I'm not used to them and it will take longer. But, to quote the title, I am not my market and the customer is always right. My private opinion can remain unchanged, but as a business I'm going to have to listen, not tell people they're wrong.