KENYA · GUIDE 0442 · EDITION 4.2
Coffee table making in Kenya: Customers and Market Demand
The buyer and the buying decision
Apartment households and small accommodation operators. The offer to test is: Make compact coffee tables to approved size and finish.
Design the coffee table around actual seating height and room circulation, agreeing storage, edges and delivery access before selecting timber or producing a decorative prototype.
Separate interest from an accepted order
Show one table sample beside an accurate dimension drawing.
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
Record room constraints, approved dimensions, finish samples and delivery feedback, then use the pilot to decide which proportions suit the target apartment or household customer.
| Question to resolve | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|
| What exactly will the buyer accept? | Place the finished sample beside representative seating and inspect stability, finish and useful reach, ensuring the buyer approves its practical proportions rather than only a catalogue photograph. |
| What is included in the first trial? | Design the coffee table around actual seating height and room circulation, agreeing storage, edges and delivery access before selecting timber or producing a decorative prototype. |
| How will a prospect see the offer? | Show furnishing shops a sample with clear delivery dimensions. |
| What must happen before repeating the trial? | Table sits level and edges and finish match the approved sample. |
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. The table looks balanced in isolation but blocks a narrow sitting-room route, resulting in a return because overall use and circulation were not discussed at ordering.
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 sample order: One ordinary indoor timber coffee table, 900 × 500 × 450 mm high, with approved timber, top and leg design. Competent furniture maker determines joint and support details. Exclude seating/stepping use, glass tops, electrical additions and a universal load rating.
| Buyer discussion | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|
| Specification to confirm | Customer confirms height and access. |
| Output to inspect | No person sits on it as a strength demonstration. |
| Failure that can defeat acceptance | Top cups |
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
Review timber conditioning, grain/movement and finish conditions.. 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.