First impressions matter.
So, why are you still using CAD files when you’re trying to sell your line? A CAD is an inaccurate, lesser representation of your product. It doesn’t impress retailers, and it doesn’t give them confidence that what they’re ordering is what will end up on their shelves.
Instead, give them real photographs. It’s less expensive, it’s more of what your retailers want, and will net better sales results.
At some point, you probably did a cost benefit analysis, and decided that the cheapest option for pre-sell was to produce CAD images of your upcoming products, and then stopped thinking about it.
That does sound pretty good… on paper. Our industry moves quickly – rolling from one season to the next – and we don’t always have the luxury of being able to fully dive into the details behind a decision. But, that lowered cost up front is going to cost your bottom line.
CAD images sort of get the job done during the pre-season when you’re working with retailers to build assortments and figure out orders. Their functionality ends there though, because they can’t be used for anything else.
If you start with CAD images, you can’t use them for marketing, D2C support, educational materials, or any other kind of experience. So, you have to pay to have the CAD created, and then again for photography of the actual item.
Photography does everything you need right from the start, and can be used throughout the entire season. And, it’s less costly than you think.
There is competition for placement at every level of a retailer’s shelf. Good products matter, but so do good back office experiences. Retailers want to partner with brands that are easy to work with and support their success.
That means they’re buying more than just the product from you, they’re buying confidence that you’re a good brand to have on their shelf. To that end, a clear, engaging wholesale experience that removes as much friction as possible from the process of ordering is essential.
CADs simply can’t do that, because they can’t capture the subtleties, textures, and colors of the real thing. They aren’t a reliable representation of the product, and don’t instill confidence that what’s on the order sheet is going to look like what arrives on the shelf.
Photographs give an accurate representation of the textures of a product, and how it looks and feels. They can show realistic colors, reacting to real light in a natural way that accentuates your brand. This gets the retailer as close as possible to understanding the product without holding it in their hands.
That instills confidence when ordering, enabling the retailer to trust that what ends up on their shelf is exactly what they ordered. They know what they’re getting, and it’s a product they can sell, from a brand they trust.
You want your product to make a good first impression, and for retailers to trust your brand. Launching a season by trying to sell your product with CADs misses that mark completely, costing you more money in the long run, and likely costing you orders too.
Stop selling with CADs, and give retailers the real thing with high-quality photography. It makes a better impression, takes less money out of your bottom line, boosts retailer confidence in your product, and drives more orders.