Topic: 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬? (Read 3735 times)

The Cricket Boutique · « **on:** January 22, 2023, 07:16:36 PM »

𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬

A cricket bat is made of wood, usually English Willow. What makes us want to use one over the other is largely down to the stickers on the bat IMO. These have moved forward vastly in the 18 years I�ve been in the industry, back when there were only 2 real UK based choices to use to have your brands made by. We�ve leapt forward from the days of having a few colours and your logo on them to spot vanish areas, textures, matte areas and now even holographic elements to catch the sunlight and dazzle you with.

Is the quality of the willow secondary to the stickers? If you walked into a shop with 100 bats on the shelf do you walk over to those that appeal to you visually in terms of sticker first?

Do you eyes then look at the willow, price, profile as a secondary thought?

For me personally it�s something I fell for big time prior to producing my own brands.

The Cadbury purple Newbery stickers were as rare as hens teeth to get hold of but that sexy colour made them desirable. 😍

Now when using a bat I need to feel confident holding it when looking down at it at the crease, knowing it�s the right weight, profile and if I�m lucky enough to get one somewhere near the middle it hopefully won�t be caught at cover! The numbers of grains/grade and looks come lower down my list as pretty bats don�t score more runs.

As a relative newbie to the retail side of things in terms of stocking and selling multiple brands (outside of my own) I�m intrigued about potential customers list of priorities when looking for a new bat. #sundaythoughts #shareyourstory

Jimbo · « **Reply #1 on:** January 22, 2023, 07:23:11 PM »

I've definitely decided not to buy from a brand because their branding was unattractive before.

jonny77 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 22, 2023, 07:45:17 PM »

I'll often say to customers who come into the shop, younger ones especially, make sure you're happy with the bat aesthetically first and foremost. If you can't get over the looks of the bat, branding, stickers and profile, then i don't think there's much point buying it as you'll never really be happy using it.

Then after that, grains etc depend on budget. I'll ask what the budget is and if it's G3 budget, I'll show them G3 bats. If budget isn't an issue, my next question is do grains and looks matter? If not, then I'll recommend a G2 or G3. If they do matter, then generally they'll go for a G1 regardless. My point being, any bat should perform so grading is not the priority.

What people don't seem to take into account is the quality of handle. Which is a hugely important part of any bat. Also, is the willow sourced from a reputable source, dried correctly, free from storm damage etc. Added to that, do you like the brand? What they stand for? Are you looking to support a UK batmaker etc?

Lots more to buying a bat than stickers and branding, but it is a major sticking point and very important, as essentially you wouldn't want to use a bat you didn't like the look of.

potzy248 · « **Reply #3 on:** January 22, 2023, 09:04:26 PM »

Not just bats but most things draw you in by the look first. It's why some brands pay millions to marketing companies. I think if you ask most kids why they like a brand though it will be because their hero uses them. Take India for example you can't tell me that the kids like the MRF or CEAT stickers.
CBF'ers and the like are probably more fussy about the stickers. I don't like too many on a bat and I also like simple minimalistic stickers on my bats.

Yorkershire · « **Reply #4 on:** January 23, 2023, 08:33:35 AM »

Stickers and branding matter! I too have been put off brands.. and totally agree with @potzy248 re favourite player bats.

Never been a big GN fan (never disliked them but never been a priority), but since they did the 1.3 stuff for Babar I've been keen on one.

So yes I'm sure I've missed on some great deals as I've been put of by branding.

Neon Cricket · « **Reply #5 on:** January 23, 2023, 08:51:32 AM »

The reality for probably 95% of the market is the branding comes first - you could put the most incredible piece of low density willow in front of the average joe but if they don't like the branding the likelihood is it'll stay sat on the shelves regardless of how good it actually is.

I combat things slightly by keeping all the bats I have in the HQ blank, that way when a customer comes to pick out a bat they'll pick out the one best suited to them before applying the branding, as opposed to having the bats pre-labelled and the customer only looking at the few labelled up in their preferred choice of colour, and then potentially missing out on the 'right' bat for them just because it's the wrong colour!

I'd say roughly 80% of customers that come through the door already know what colour labels they want. Grade wise I'd say it drops to more like 25% and I'll always direct them towards the lower grades if they're unsure on what they want/need. I'd say more often than not customers leave with a cheaper bat than they intended on buying.

cobweb1510 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 23, 2023, 06:41:28 PM »

Last time I went bat shopping, we ordered a custom bat.

The bat maker has 4 different sticker styles, and I was amazed my son was prepared to wait 4 months for the stickers he wanted to come back into stock. He had had bats with 3 of the 4 stickers on before- including 2 sets that were in stock, and the ones out of stock.

So, even to someone who knows nothing about branding, the "look" of the stickers is very important.

edge · « **Reply #7 on:** January 24, 2023, 11:07:29 AM »

Stickers are pretty unlikely to sell me a bat but they sure can put me off one!

Thorne_Cricket · « **Reply #8 on:** January 25, 2023, 06:41:48 AM »

For me, it is not about the stickers as they do not make the stickers, it is about how the bat has been made and it is all about the "ping"; I have seen loads of post on social media recently about the number of grains but a lot of professionals are using butterfly willow. Josh Brown who was playing third grade cricket in Brisbane and is a bat maker for Cooper, is now opening the batting for Brisbane Heat with his bats that he has made and when the ball comes off his willow, the sound is amazing and their stickers are very minimalistic. I have got the same way with my bat stickers when I refurb bats, I have gone for the minimalistic look as I would rather see the willow than attempt to blind other players with my fancy stickers, even though I am partial to applying my own oil slick Instagram handle and holographic sticker to my current SG bat.

dantsw13 · « **Reply #9 on:** February 21, 2023, 09:01:44 AM »

I�ve never really got the �It has to look right when you look down at it� thing. At the crease I look at the ball not the bat!!

Performance over looks every time.

MichaelM · « **Reply #10 on:** February 21, 2023, 10:37:45 AM »

For me, it's in this order
Profile and pickup and ping
Cost
Aesthetics
Branding

The Cricket Boutique · « **Reply #11 on:** February 21, 2023, 10:49:44 AM »

I've found most customers come in with a set budget in mind, it's a fascinating process now I stock a wider range of brands to watch them look at the different options.

MichaelM · « **Reply #12 on:** February 21, 2023, 10:57:38 AM »

Quote from: The Cricket Boutique on February 21, 2023, 10:49:44 AM

I've found most customers come in with a set budget in mind, it's a fascinating process now I stock a wider range of brands to watch them look at the different options.

That makes sense to have brands options.

KettonJake · « **Reply #13 on:** February 22, 2023, 09:19:06 AM »

Quote from: The Cricket Boutique on February 21, 2023, 10:49:44 AM

I've found most customers come in with a set budget in mind, it's a fascinating process now I stock a wider range of brands to watch them look at the different options.

The vast majority shop like this in my experience.

The interesting ones were the ones who always came with a very fixed budget which happened to be a price point i didn't stock as it wasn't overly popular. 909/Original region in GM terms, perhaps Players in GN terms.

I found there were a lot of 808 / 5 star type purchases and then a smattering of the top stuff, OLE, LE etc, not much in between. The people with the very fixed budget at the price points i didn't carry were often stubborn with regards to spending less. They often simply wouldn't accept that i carried 808 but not 909 as i felt there wasn't much in it between the models and therefore 808 represents better value. 'Buy an 808 and a couple of sessions on our bowling machine instead.' - some saw the light but that very specific small group of buyers were certainly most interesting to study during their buying process. Often just staring at the shelves as if by magic a 909 or Original would appear......

thegowerwaft · « **Reply #14 on:** February 22, 2023, 09:24:53 AM »

Fascinating consumer behaviour. Was it ingrained due to knowledge or just because that's how people were despite your reasoned points?

Author Topic: 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬? (Read 3735 times)

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