Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
At 21, Jack Panzarella moved back home with his parents to cuthis expenses so he could introduce his first invention, ahigh-voltage neon light that operates using a transformer. Poweredby a car's battery, the Undercar Neon makes a car'sundercarriage glow in the dark. Now Panzarella, 29, has three majorproduct lines--Auto-Neon (a line of car products), Sport-Neon (forin-line skaters) and Home-Neon (a line of clocks, sculptures andaccent lighting)--with a combined total of more than 200 products.His Wayne, New Jersey, company, Street Glow Inc., now employs morethan 200 people and had estimated sales of $16 million lastyear.
Panzarella's parents helped him in more ways than justproviding a place to live. They're both BIZ Experiencess, andgrowing up, he knew from their example that he'd someday starthis own business. His idea for neon auto accessories succeeded,despite his limited budget, because his invention had drama andpizzazz--in other words, he had a product people couldn't helpbut notice.
No invention sells as well or as easily as an eye-catching one.Panzarella has expanded his business by capitalizing on his flairfor the dramatic and using event-oriented marketing tactics tobuild customer awareness.
Don Debelak (dondebelak@uswest.net) is anew-business marketing consultant who has been introducing newproducts for more than 20 years. He is the author of BringingYour Product To Market (John Wiley & Sons, $19.95,800-225-5945)
Illuminations
Panzarella's idea germinated when he was working as a repoman in Florida. He repossessed a car that had a neon tube attachedto its undercarriage. Curious about what a neon light was doingthere, he learned the car was a custom show vehicle that was oftenon display. The neon light was turned on to highlight the car andgive it an extra dose visual appeal.
Panzarella thought this was a great idea that could be appliedto ordinary cars. The only problem: The light ran off a bigtransformer that had to be plugged into an electrical outlet.Panzarella, a diehard car enthusiast, knew he'd have a greatproduct if he could just figure out how to build a transformer thatcould run off the car battery.
Eventually, he developed a new transformer, moved back home toNew Jersey, and started his sales campaign by driving around atnight in a car equipped with Undercar Neon. "People would stopme all the time and ask where they could get the product. It washot," he recalls. "Police [officers], who tend to be carenthusiasts, especially liked it, and they stopped me all the timeto ask where they could buy their own."
Building off that customer enthusiasm, Panzarella startedbuilding a network of car stereo distributors and dealers who soldhis product, which he packaged in a do-it-yourself kit. He alsopicked up two big mail order accounts: Crutchfield, whichspecializes in car stereo equipment, and J.C. Whitney, a catalogsupplier of auto parts and accessories.
For a while, Panzarella concentrated on adding new products,including neon lights for license plates, neon gear shifts and neonaccent tubes to install under a car's dash or seat. Oncehe'd created his line of products, he wanted to attractattention, so he launched an event marketing program.
Panzarella decided to capitalize on Sound-Offcompetitions--contests to see whose car has the best stereosystem--by introducing Glow-Off competitions (not affiliated withSound-Off), where people bring their neon-lit cars to contests andvie for awards. The biggest Glow-Off, sponsored by a large autoaccessory dealer, Number One Parts Inc., is held every September atthe Atlanta Motor Speedway, attracting thousands of people. Eventslike Sound-Offs and Glow-Offs are the type of big attractions thatbuild customer awareness and keep a product's salesgrowing.
In 1998, Panzarella decided the in-line skate market was ripefor his neon lights. People skating at night want to be seen, andsafety is a prime concern of the thousands of in-line skate clubsthat often sponsor night skating sessions. Once Panzarella ironedout the details of producing a neon light that ran on batteries, hewas ready to take on the market. His ultimate goal was to sell tobig retailers like The Sports Authority, Sportmart and Big 5Sporting Goods. But Panzarella didn't want to just put theproduct in stores; he wanted to create the same drama andexcitement he had with Undercar Neon.
He started by locating distributors that sold to roller rinks.Why? Panzarella wanted to create a "buzz" in the market,and this way, the visual appeal of a hot skater with neon lightscould be seen by hundreds of prime prospects. Next, he got theendorsement of Scott Olson, inventor of the original Rollerbladein-line skate, who felt Sports-Neon had great safety features.
Just months after its introduction, Sport-Neon's distributorsales were way over projections. With the market buzzing, supportfrom the father of the in-line skate industry, and high demand fromconsumers, Panzarella was talking to all the big retail chains andlining up sales agreements. By waiting until he created excitementin the market before approaching retailers, Panzarella gainednegotiating leverage. The proven consumer demand should produceimmediate sales once stores stock Sport-Neon.
In order to succeed, your product has to give customers acompelling reason to buy. Maybe the product has a better designthan the competition's, is a better value, works moreeffectively, or has more features to help customers meet theirgoals. All these improvements require you visual communication ofhow and why your product is better.
Products with dramatic visual flair are easier to sell becausepeople immediately notice them. In many cases, in fact,eye-catching appeal is the main reason a product sells.
If you want to match Panzarella's success, look for productideas that turn people's heads and get them saying"Wow!" Capture their attention, and you'll capturesuccess of your own.
Knock, Knock
Inventors often ask, "How do I prevent overseas competitorsfrom knocking off my product?" Jack Panzarella, who has heldoff foreign competition even though his neon products have beencopied by overseas companies, tells what's worked for him:"I've tried to keep expanding the product line, upgradingthe older products in the line, and offering a wide variety ofproducts for auto accessory dealers to sell. A retailer can'tbuy the entire product line from anyone but me. So far, retailershaven't wanted to carry neon products from two companies."U.S. companies have one big advantage over foreigncompetition--they know more about U.S. customers. But thatadvantage doesn't mean much unless you translate it into newproducts and product upgrades that meet the constantly changingneeds of the market. Panzarella has several patents and trademarks,but beyond that, he knows fending off the competition requires awide, innovative and up-to-date product line that retailers want tocarry.
Isn't That Specialized?
Most of Jack Panzarella's auto accessories are distributedthrough installers that sell car stereos. Specialized distributorsare an ideal market for inventors, because they make a living froma small market with a limited number of vendors. A new product withsales appeal is most easily sold in this type of distributionchannel.
When Panzarella launched his Sport-Neon line, he started withanother specialty distribution channel--roller rinks. Thedistributors were happy to carry and promote Sport-Neon because itadded much-needed revenue to their slim product line.
To find specialty distributors:
- Ask retailers for distributors' names. Specialtymarket companies usually buy from only two to threedistributors.
- Read trade magazines targeting your prospects. Ads fromspecialty distributors appear in most issues. For example, carstereo installers get Mobile Electronics (Bobit Publishing,310-533-2400); roller rink owners get Rinksider Magazine(Target Publishing Co. Inc., 614-235-1022). Find relevantpublications by looking in the Gale's Directory ofPublications (available in larger libraries). Call themagazines and tell them you're a manufacturer in the business,most will send you a free copy.
Contact Source
Street Glow Inc., (800) 925-9921, http://www.streetglow.com
