KENYA · GUIDE 0854 · EDITION 4.2
Cat scratching post making in Kenya: Customers and Market Demand
The buyer and the buying decision
cat owners The offer to test is: Stable scratching posts with replaceable scratching surfaces
Design scratching posts around stable placement, replaceable scratching surfaces, and accessible assembly instructions, discussing the intended cat's habits without promising universal acceptance of the product.
Separate interest from an accepted order
Build one sample and check stability under foreseeable use
The purpose of this test is to establish whether the buyer accepts the specified result, delivery arrangement and payment terms. An encouraging interview does not establish repeat demand. Ask what the buyer currently uses, what would make them change supplier and who has authority to approve the first order. Record a refusal as carefully as an enquiry so that unsuccessful offers do not disappear from the evidence.
Collect evidence specific to this offer
Keep base dimensions, material sources, assembly misunderstandings, attachment defects, placement feedback, and observations about which surfaces cats actually use after the item reaches home.
| Question to resolve | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|
| What exactly will the buyer accept? | Inspect the assembled sample for wobble, exposed staples, loose fibres, and inaccessible fixings, then ask a customer to assemble it using the supplied instructions. |
| What is included in the first trial? | Design scratching posts around stable placement, replaceable scratching surfaces, and accessible assembly instructions, discussing the intended cat's habits without promising universal acceptance of the product. |
| How will a prospect see the offer? | Display a stable assembled sample at pet shops, showing base dimensions, attachment details and a realistic replaceable-surface maintenance plan. |
| What must happen before repeating the trial? | Stable base and no exposed sharp hardware |
Decide whether to continue
Review the specification with the buyer before committing to tools or stock. A trial is commercially useful only if actual costs, rejected work, time spent and cash collected can be reconciled. A tall decorative post disappoints when its base shifts during scratching or the appealing cover detaches before the owner can replace the worn surface.
If a buyer changes the required output, record a new scope and re-cost the test. Do not count a request for a different product as proof of demand for the original one. Keep personal contact details in your private records and use customer statements publicly only with permission.
Turn the example into a buyer test
Fictional maker order: develop two floor-standing cat scratching-post prototypes for a local pet shop. Each draft uses a 500 × 500 × 24 mm plywood base, a 90 × 90 × 700 mm untreated solid-wood post, replaceable sisal covering and recessed fixings selected by a competent maker. These dimensions describe a development sample, not a validated design or load rating. Exclude climbing platforms, wall mounting, hanging toys and animal use until a competent pet-product assessment addresses stability, materials and entanglement.
| Buyer discussion | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|
| Specification to confirm | A kitten-sized display sample must not become the default product for every cat. |
| Output to inspect | Until assessment is complete, label both pieces as prototypes and keep them out of animal use. |
| Failure that can defeat acceptance | Prototype rocks on a flat floor |
Ask the buyer to describe one acceptable and one unacceptable result. Record the decision maker, price basis, quantity, handover point and payment date privately. A sample request, an encouraging conversation and an accepted order are different evidence. Keep the first commitment within your demonstrated capacity; no customer interview or successful trial is asserted here.
What a failed test should change
Check base flatness, joint seating and the complete design with the assessor.. If the offer cannot meet that check, revise the specification or process before promising a repeat. Keep rejected offers and reasons in the same register as positive replies so that your record does not exaggerate demand.