2020? The year turned out to be an annus horribilis.
Oh wait, the question is about flashlights and the future…
In that case, let’s turn the tables on you, Sofirn, what do you want it to be?
Sell more flashlights, make more money? Well, that’s obvious.
How to do that? Well, that’s where it gets interesting.
The brand has been built on three core values — good quality, good value, good customer service — and that has resulted in a solid foundation, with a collaborative spirit that has been embraced by the enthusiast community, to the benefit of both.
That hasn’t wavered, which is good, and you’ve found a loyal customer base that will continue to support you as long as those qualities remain.
However the bigger question remains — what does the company want its future to be? Continue to target the enthusiast market, offer more esoteric choices like additional emitter options, further embrace the use of hobbyist firmware in the lineup, and build models biased more toward enthusiasts’ tastes and wow factors, and less on neophytic usability and practicality?
That’s a conservative, though logical approach, and will make your most loyal customers happy. But be aware, that if you poll a room full of black sheep what their preferred color is, white isn’t going to be very popular; not a particularly representative sample in the overall scheme of things.
If, as a brand, that’s your target market, the sales numbers support that strategy, and there is little desire to grow beyond that realm, then steady as she goes, captain.
But if there is a desire to grow the brand beyond that market, and establish it as not just an enthusiasts’ brand, but one that is known to more users, and has broader appeal as well, then there is more work to do.
Much of it has been discussed before, such as building a stronger brand identity, though a unique logo or wordmark, a slogan or tagline, and more polished presentation in terms of things like packaging. None of these things need necessarily be costly, nor extravagant, and the product should still always be king, but a polished and consistent presentation is needed to compete on the bigger stage.
Need some specific examples? Do some research on the Anker brand, how it started, as a simple ODM seller, and see what the company has grown into. The same foundation is there — product, value, customer service.
Closer to home, in a bit of irony, look to your partners, sibling, whatever…at Wurkkos. In just a relatively brief period, it has done a splendid job establishing itself as a brand with its own identity, when it could have easily been dismissed as a re-labeler of Jinba’s products, or a Sofirn clone.
Instead, they’re utilized the same basic components, added their own sense of design flair, and the products leave the same factory in packaging that is simple, and still flexible, but doesn’t give the impression of being some sort of afterthought, or little better than a generic brown or white box. They have a wordmark that is unique, recognizable, and a consistent aesthetic from the lights, to the batteries, to the packaging, at pricing that is similar, yet without the benefit of having their own factory. The people in charge recognize the biggest picture, and they’ve gone from a simple little tube light to a full lineup in two short years or so.
That simple but popular little tube light, the FC11, isn’t the biggest, baddest, brightest, or most customizable, yet it has appeal for both enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts, and can find a home in a kitchen drawer as easily as in an EDC pack. It’s not perfect, of course (unregulated driver, cough), but it’s easy to use, and not as limiting as a muggle’s light might be.
I guess now would also be a good time to point out, and emphasize that for many, if not most average people, just looking for a simple tool, a source of light — having to read the manual, a spaghetti-chart, or look up instructions or a video on the web to count clicks and decipher flashes to help figure out how to operate their flashlight — that’s not a feature, it’s a bug. They want a tool that is easy to use, consistent, and find no joy in performing an out-of-box reset and thermal calibration, or desire to set high/low/step levels, or see what their pain threshhold is by bumping the thermal limit. Beware the echo chamber.
Someone inside the company obviously recognizes that most users aren’t going to have a Ph.D. in Flashlight Programming, in fact, from from it, if they felt the need to call for the recent practice of plastering the battery polarity symbol on the tail caps of newer lights.
Speaking of the FC11, Sofirn used to have lights that had similar appeal, like the SP31/32 series and SC31/31B. The former are still around, but in dire need of a refresh, and the latter have disappeared, in favor of a Pro model that adds complication for little benefit, and is mediocre at its fundamental function.
I believe, or want to believe, there is a place for both from the brand, so the call, and the rush to load Anduril onto any and every light is a misguided strategy if the company values, or still desires, a market beyond flashlight enthusiasts.
And simply changing the UI, adding a “Pro” label and calling it a day is a half-measure. IMO, full-measures would include better quality (potted, as well) regulated drivers, for sustained performance, and better temperature regulation performance with less conservative parameters. Pros need tools that can handle heavy duty tasks, and not let them down. And if they need service, don’t put additional obstacles like glued assembly in their way.
Perhaps consideration should be given to rationalizing the model lineup (as well as the naming nomenclature), cutting the dead weight, and segmenting the models more along true Pro, and “Home” lines. Give the Pro models what the enthusiasts want — power, configuration options, higher quality drivers. Give the Home models the same basic quality and features, but with simpler UI, good, practical performance, more budget friendly, as well as more options beyond basic black for a little extra appeal.
My 20¢…