Over the years I watched how Kyle and Carson ponder their markets. Some marketers spend a great deal of time studying the folks that make up a niche. When I worked in the ceramic dinnerware industry (Lenox) we went through a process before trying to develop a new product. For one product we developed an unwanted product for a non-existing market.
Our marketing people told us exactly what this imaginary market wanted. We created the product and made pilot production runs. The resulting product were processed like all of our products. A group of people looked at the products and told our marketing staff which of the products they like best.
I went to Korea and Japan with the outsourcing manager and we picked a manufacturer to make this special product. There are no secrets in Japan. Competitors were ready before we were. As soon as our product hit the market, the major competitor, they dumped their stuff on the market at a price too low for us to match. Anyway, the group who were supposed to grab up this product cared less. They wanted our good stuff, the fine china we produced here in the U.S. When the profits were not there, neither were we.
All this means is the focus groups were not the same as the potential buying groups. They liked the stuff but that simply meant they liked one pattern over another. They forgot to ask if anybody would buy the stuff.
Want another example? We knew that the food industry spends a tremendous amount of money on replacement hotel china. In fact, the manufacturers rely on that fact to survive. My great idea was that a much more durable product would be attractive at a higher price. Well, it was. But we ran of customers and we had no replacement business. We dumped the project. We wanted a net 15 percent return on whatever we did.
I remember testing this china in an Atlantic City soup kitchen. The director who used to work for me said there had been a fight and one of the plates was hurled across the room and hit a patron in the head. The plate fell to the floor. I had only one question, "Did it break?"
Know your market. That means knowing the people in your market.
Well, this has been fun!
Hasn't it?
John
Our marketing people told us exactly what this imaginary market wanted. We created the product and made pilot production runs. The resulting product were processed like all of our products. A group of people looked at the products and told our marketing staff which of the products they like best.
I went to Korea and Japan with the outsourcing manager and we picked a manufacturer to make this special product. There are no secrets in Japan. Competitors were ready before we were. As soon as our product hit the market, the major competitor, they dumped their stuff on the market at a price too low for us to match. Anyway, the group who were supposed to grab up this product cared less. They wanted our good stuff, the fine china we produced here in the U.S. When the profits were not there, neither were we.
All this means is the focus groups were not the same as the potential buying groups. They liked the stuff but that simply meant they liked one pattern over another. They forgot to ask if anybody would buy the stuff.
Want another example? We knew that the food industry spends a tremendous amount of money on replacement hotel china. In fact, the manufacturers rely on that fact to survive. My great idea was that a much more durable product would be attractive at a higher price. Well, it was. But we ran of customers and we had no replacement business. We dumped the project. We wanted a net 15 percent return on whatever we did.
I remember testing this china in an Atlantic City soup kitchen. The director who used to work for me said there had been a fight and one of the plates was hurled across the room and hit a patron in the head. The plate fell to the floor. I had only one question, "Did it break?"
Know your market. That means knowing the people in your market.
Well, this has been fun!
Hasn't it?
John
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MilodonHemi
Premium
I'll have to keep in mind untentionally over-using keywords, since I'm still learning SEO. I do recall the first and last paragraph suggestion from somewhere.
Hey that's Boulder Dam.
Hey that's Boulder Dam.
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