Good questions, guys. I'll try to give some good answers.
I have kept high end pens that write nicely, but haven't used a mouse pad for years with an optical mouse.
My favorite pen is one given to me by Kyocera, when they were my supplier for ceramic packages, I like it so much I actually went and bought a second. It's a little expensive to be giving away en masse, and I've noticed I'm in the minority, for actually noticing or appreciating a really good pen.
I still use mouse pads, even with an optical mouse. I have a natural walnut desk, and so it protects the finish. But even when I was stuffed in a cubicle working on a Formica desk, I found that the desk got kinda nasty without a mouse pad to protect and throw away each year.
Would a nice digital micrometer be an appreciated tchotchke upgrade that is kept?
Yeah, that would be nice. Most of us keep a pair of digital calipers handy, for measuring parts we're modeling, mating to, or replicating. But also, most have a preference of brand and model (eg. Mitutoyo DigiCalp with thumb wheel, for me), and would probably just take a freebie set home for personal use, since these items are generally employer-provided at work.
There are $30 calipers that aren't total throw-aways, for home use, but most I know prefer the ones costing over $100/ea, when shopping on their employer's account.
I keep pens and mugs. I use them.
I'll admit I had a huge collection, at one time. I had to thin the heard awhile back, and found pretty much all the freebies were the ones I was tossing.
The diffusion constant of pens is inexplicably large...
lol... well put! Expensive Kyocera (OHTO) ceramic roller balls aside, most pens have the lifespan of a French fry, and receive even less attention.
What "thing" would trigger word of mouth? You want those you have sold to to talk about you.
That's a good question, and I don't have a great answer. It's ironic that a new customer learning you've been supplying their competitor can actually hurt my chance of building a relationship with the new customer, as there's always fear over protecting one's IP from their competitors, and most of these designs involve at least some collaborative sharing of information both ways. Of course NDA's are standard fare, but there are still many engineers who will automatically avoid a vendor who has any known relationship with their competitor.
Of course, there's probably an equal number where that knowledge has the reverse effect. For now, I've been only disclosing past (but not current) relationships with prospective customers, as some way of demonstrating history and experience in this field, without causing apprehension over IP disclosure.
What person-to-person contact opportunities occur in your world?
Mostly handled through manufacturer's rep's. Essentially, find rep's who already have a good relationship with your prospective customers, through selling product lines adjacent or complimentary to your own, and contract with them to also represent you at those customer sites or regions.
What would be used/had in hand when one customer discusses a product (of your type) with another potential customer?
Not sure I understand this question. There are basically three classes of products of the type I design:
1. Low power / commodity stuff, aimed at known volume applications. ($500 - $2000/ea) I don't compete here, as there are larger manufacturers who build hundreds at a time into stock, and can ship next day at prices that would make me bleed.
2. Medium power, commercial off the shelf (COTS) stuff, typically orders of 1 - 100 pieces. ($2000 - $10,000/ea) Basically, you have a design, but only build to forecast or order. Designs are driven by the requirements of one or a few customers, then advertised on your site for pickings from additional customers operating in the same space. This is the area where I am to grow the business most, as I can be competitive here, and the repeat orders are the only effective way to amortize my design time at expected product pricing.
3. Very high power custom. ($10,000 - $250,000/ea) This is where 90% of my work has been over the last 2 years, stuff that's just so over the top outside what anyone else offers as a COTS product, that all my competition is either bidding as a custom job (like me) or no-quoting the thing. Some of the jobs I've quoted here have been so stupid expensive that I was sure I'd never get the order... and then I do. These jobs put food on the table, and then some, but the risk and stress is enormous and there's no easy money from building a second or third order of the same. Just imagine irreversibly screwing up a job where the material cost is $100k, or learning that the product cannot meet customer spec after completion.
I am happy doing the very high power custom stuff as a reasonable fraction of the business for now, and am insured for such work, but aim to taper that down to zero over the next 10-15 years. It's extremely risky, in terms of cost / profit ratio, and also takes design hours away from the medium power COTS development. I really want to build up the medium power business, but of course it relies on very good market research to predict needs, and also risk that things developed (even stocked) are actually going to move.
A credit card holder thingy (RF shielded - seems related to your product?) to be put on the back of a phone case with a marketing message.
Yep, you're in the right field, but think full lead suit at my power levels! I had one customer cook one of his coworkers from 250 meters away, and I suspect he didn't care much about the credit cards melting in his pocket, at the time.
My last company actually gave away pop sockets and rubber grippy pads to go onto the back of cell phone cases, 10 years ago. Not sure if that stuff is still popular.
I'm getting the message that mouse pads have fallen out with most people, with the caveat that engineers are not "most people", but maybe it's time to scratch that one off the list and look at other options. One I have from my prior employer is neoprene drink coasters. identical construction to old-skool mouse pads, but two of these drink coasters sit on my desk at all times. Usually ice water on one, while the other alternates between coffee and cocktail, AM to PM. Stupid little things, but I've probably had them more than 6 years now.
