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B U S I N E S S S E R I E S MARKETING YOUR PRODUCT Donald Cyr and Douglas Gray • Plan for business success • Develop the competitive edge • Understand your customers 101 SMALL BUSINESS for CD-ROM Included 5th edition Donald Cyr and MARKETING YOUR PRODUCT

Marketing Your Product 5th Edition

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The 5th edition of this 12-year best selling book keeps the information and content to marketing products in today's world. A "must have" title for tens of thousands of small-business owners for more than a decade, the book is written in a clear, easy to understand style.

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Page 1: Marketing Your Product 5th Edition

B U S I N E S S S E R I E S

MARKETINGYOUR

PRODUCTDonald Cyr and Douglas Gray

• Plan for business success• Develop the competitive edge• Understand your customers

101SMALL BUSINESS

forCD-ROM Included

5th edition

EA

N

Business/Marketing

$21.95 US/$24.95 CDNISBN 978-1-55180-859-8

www.self-counsel.com

Crack the code of successful product marketing!

Marketing is more than just advertising; it helps you decide if you are developing the right product for the right target market and using the right media and distribution methods.

Marketing Your Product explains how a company can carve a niche for its product in today’s competitive consumer environment. It describes customers’ buying impulses, how products satisfy these impulses, how to inform customers about your product, and what it takes to get your product to consumers.

This book answers questions such as:

• What is marketing?

• How do you plan a marketing strategy?

• How do you do your own market research?

• How do you develop your product to suit the market?

• Which media should you use to market your product?

• Why do people choose one product over another?

• How do you price to sell?

• How can you use the Internet to market your product?

• What should you know about global marketing?

• What legal considerations must you be aware of?

Highlights of the CD:• Worksheets to help with analysis of the competition• Guide for your sales analysis summary• Sample marketing plan• — And more!

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: • Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista, or NT4• MS Word and Excel or compatible software• CD-ROM drive• Web browser: IE Version 7 or similar

This edition comes with numerous forms to get you started and keep you organized. All forms are included on CD-ROM, in MS Word and PDF formats, for use on a Windows-based PC.

About the authors

Donald Cyr, MBA, is an experienced marketer and educator. He has shared his marketing skills in business, benefi ting numerous clients, and taught courses on strategic marketing for executives and businesspeople.

Douglas Gray, LLB, is a lawyer, consultant, and businessman. He gives business and marketing seminars and presentations throughout the US and Canada. Gray has written other best-selling books, including Start & Run a Consulting Business, also published by Self-Counsel Press. Visit his website at www.smallbiz.ca.

Donald Cyr andDouglas Gray

5thedition

MARKETING YOUR PRODUCT

Page 2: Marketing Your Product 5th Edition

MARKETING YOUR PRODUCT

101forSMALL BUSINESS

Donald Cyr, MBADouglas Gray, LLB

Self-Counsel Press(a division of)International Self-Counsel Press Ltd. USA Canada

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Copyright © 1987, 1994, 1998, 2003, 2009 by International Self-Counsel Press Ltd.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means — graphic, electronic, or mechanical — without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Self-Counsel Press acknowledges the fi nancial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) for our publishing activities.

Printed in Canada.

First edition: 1987Reprinted: 1988; 1989; 1991Second edition: 1994Reprinted: 1994Third edition: 1998Fourth edition: 2003Fifth edition: 2009

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data

Cyr, Donald G.

Marketing your product / Donald Cyr, Douglas Gray. — 5th ed.ISBN 978-1-55180-859-8

1. Marketing. 2. Small business. I. Gray, Douglas A. II. Title.HF5415.G73 2009 658.8 C2009-903136-1

Self-Counsel Press(a division of)

International Self-Counsel Press Ltd.

1704 N. State Street 1481 Charlotte Road Bellingham, WA 98225 North Vancouver, BC V7J 1H1 USA Canada

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INTRODUCTION xix

1 WHAT IS MARKETING? 11. Marketing 1

1.1 Understanding customer needs and desires 11.2 Selecting and developing a product 21.3 Developing a communication program 21.4 Getting your product to your customer 2

2. Marketing Mix 22.1 Product 22.2 Price 22.3 Place 22.4 Promotion 2

3. Selling versus Marketing 24. Product versus Service Marketing 35. Avoiding Failure; Ensuring Success 4

CONTENTS

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2 MARKETING PLANNING, GOAL-SETTING, AND STRATEGY 61. Understanding the Planning Process 7

1.1 Situation analysis: “Where are we now?” 71.2 Identifying problems and opportunities 8

2. Formulating Goals 82.1 What are goals, anyway? 82.2 Clarifying goals 9

3. Your Personal and Company Goals 94. Setting Objectives 10

4.1 Why goals are never enough 104.2 The role of objectives 104.3 What does a typical objective look like? 10

5. Integrating Goals and Objectives 116. Planning Your Specifi c Strategy 11

6.1 Evaluating alternatives 126.2 Designing your action plan 126.3 Monitoring system 12

3 THE MARKETING ENVIRONMENT 241. Demographics 242. Technology 253. Culture 26

3.1 Baby boomers 263.2 Generation Y 273.3 Baby busters 273.4 Seniors 27

4. Economy 285. Politics 29

4 SEGMENTING YOUR MARKET AND IDENTIFYING CONSUMER BEHAVIOR 301. Segmentation 302. Segmenting Using Demographics and Psychographics 31

2.1 Benefi ts segmentation 312.2 Gender 342.3 Other variables 34

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3. Market Positioning 354. Understanding Customer Buying Behavior 35

4.1 Recognition of need 364.2 Information search 364.3 Evaluating the alternatives 364.4 Choice 374.5 Post-purchase feelings 37

5 RESEARCHING YOUR MARKET 391. Areas to Research 39

1.1 Who is your market? 391.2 What products do they buy? 391.3 When do they buy? 391.4 Who is involved in the purchase decision? 391.5 Where is your market? 401.6 Where should you sell your product? 401.7 Why does the market buy your product? 40

2. Secondary Data 402.1 Government 402.2 Trade, professional, and business associations 402.3 College, university, and research organizations 402.4 Libraries 402.5 Marketing fi rms 402.6 Consultants 40

3. Primary Data 413.1 Sales records 413.2 Order-billing-shipping account 413.3 Sales representatives 413.4 Questionnaires 423.5 Group survey 423.6 Telephone survey 423.7 Expert opinions 423.8 Mail-order catalog 423.9 Test market 43

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3.10 Trade shows 433.11 Direct mail 43

6 DEVELOPING YOUR PRODUCT 441. What Benefi ts Are You Offering? 442. How Do You Convey the Benefi ts of a Product? 44

2.1 Interest value 442.2 Identity 452.3 Risk 452.4 Packaging 452.5 Branding 452.6 Customer contact 452.7 Service availability 462.8 Green marketing 46

3. Additional Services 474. Product Life Cycle 47

4.1 Introduction 484.2 Growth 494.3 Maturity 494.4 Decline 50

7 PRICING TO SELL 531. What Are Your Pricing Goals? 53

1.1 Maximizing your profi t 531.2 Getting your share of the market 541.3 Obtaining a return on your investment 54

2. Attaining Your Pricing Goals 542.1 Cost-plus pricing 542.2 Target market share 562.3 Price skimming 562.4 Penetration pricing 562.5 Prestige pricing 56

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3. Demand-Oriented Pricing 563.1 Price elasticity 573.2 Prices and profi ts 57

4. Setting a Price 58

8 ADVERTISING 621. Advertising Campaign 62

1.1 Target market 621.2 Market research 631.3 Advertising objectives 631.4 Message development 631.5 Message potency 63

2. Media Selection 642.1 Newspapers 642.2 Magazines 652.3 Radio 652.4 Television 652.5 Internet or email 662.6 Direct mail 662.7 Media mix 66

3. Timing 664. Message Execution 67

4.1 Headline 674.2 Copy 674.3 Layout 67

5. Advertising Budget 685.1 Task method 685.2 Mechanical method 68

6. Sales Promotions 687. Legal Dos and Don’ts When Advertising 69

9 PUBLIC RELATIONS 701. Publicity 702. Dos and Don’ts 713. Differences between Publicity and Advertising 73

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10 DISTRIBUTION: GETTING THE PRODUCT TO YOUR CUSTOMER 781. Methods of Distribution 78

1.1 Producer-to-customer 781.2 Producer-to-retailer-to-customer 791.3 Producer-to-wholesaler-to-retailer-to-customer 801.4 Producer-to-agent-to-wholesaler-to-retailer-to-customer 80

2. Distribution Considerations 812.1 The customer 812.2 Product characteristics 812.3 The go-between 812.4 Producer characteristics 812.5 Warehousing 822.6 Inventory control 822.7 Packaging 822.8 Material handling 822.9 Order processing 822.10 Transportation 82

11 RETAILING YOUR PRODUCT 851. Retail Classifi cations 85

1.1 Convenience stores 851.2 Large department stores 851.3 Specialty stores 861.4 Discount retailers 861.5 Nonstore retailer 86

2. Consumer Motives 863. Types of Shoppers 87

3.1 Inactive shoppers 873.2 Active shoppers 873.3 Service shoppers 873.4 Traditional shoppers 873.5 Dedicated fringe shoppers 873.6 Price shoppers 873.7 Transitional shoppers 87

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4. Choosing a Location 874.1 Choosing an area 874.2 Choosing a specifi c site 88

12 MARKETING ON THE INTERNET 901. Who Will Your Customers on the Internet Be? 902. Services Internet Customers Expect 913. What Products Can Be Sold on the Internet? 924. Advantages of the Internet 925. Is the Internet Right for Your Business? 936. Customer Concerns about the Internet 947. Poor Advertising on the Internet 948. Website Pitfalls to Avoid 959. Key Tips to Developing Your Web Marketing 9610. Key Options to Consider When Marketing Your Website 97

10.1 Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 9710.2 Pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns 9710.3 Opt-in email marketing and advertising 9710.4 Affi liate marketing 9810.5 Blogging 9810.6 Social media marketing 98

11. Creating a Great Website 9811.1 Present a professional corporate image 9911.2 Establish the product benefi ts early 9911.3 Anticipate customer questions 9911.4 Create a dynamic message 9911.5 Create a domain name 9911.6 How to design an effective website 10011.7 Gathering customer information from the Internet 101

12. Legal Issues 10213. Conclusion 102

13 THE COMPETITIVE EDGE 1031. Type of Competition 103

1.1 Monopoly (one fi rm) 104

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1.2 Oligopoly (few fi rms, same product) 1041.3 Differentiated oligopoly (few fi rms, similar product) 1041.4 Monopolistic competition (many fi rms, different products) 1041.5 Pure competition (many fi rms, similar products) 104

2. Gaining the Competitive Edge 1042.1 Operational effi ciency 1052.2 Customer service 1052.3 Product leadership 106

3. Choosing a Competitive Edge 1074. Assessing Your Competition 107

14 MANAGING IN A COMPETITIVE WORLD 1121. What Happened in the Past 1122. What Changed 1133. The Importance of Frame of Mind 1134. Management Style 1135. How Does It Work? 1156. Management Process 115

6.1 Flexibility 1156.2 Management fads 115

7. Adaptive Management 1158. Managing Duality 117

15 SELLING AS A MARKETING TECHNIQUE 1201. Organization 120

1.1 Offi ce location 1201.2 Reception 1211.3 Layout and decor 1211.4 Dress code 121

2. Who Should You Hire to Sell? 1213. Persuasion 1214. Making Contact 1225. How To Sell Effectively 122

5.1 Pre-approach 1225.2 Appraisal 122

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5.3 Presentation 1225.4 Objections 1235.5 Closing 1235.6 Follow-up 123

6. How to Make the Sales Job Easier 123

16 IMPLEMENTING THE MARKETING PLAN 1261. Controlling Implementation 1262. Setting a Schedule 1263. Staying on Schedule 1274. Different Results Than Expected? Become an MD 127

4.1 The diagnostic process 1274.2 Getting well again 128

5. Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Marketing 1286. Systematic Marketing Diagnosis 129

17 INTERNATIONAL MARKETING 1321. Going International 1322. Assessing Your Global Market 133

2.1 Political environment 1332.2 Economic considerations 1332.3 Cultural differences 134

3. Market Research 1354. Strategies for International Marketing 1365. Product 136

5.1 Same product 1365.2 Product adaption 136

6. Promotion 1377. Price 138

7.1 Cost factors 1387.2 Marketing factors 1387.3 Economic factors 138

8. Distribution 1398.1 Exporting 1398.2 Indirect exporting 139

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8.3 Direct exporting 1408.4 Licensing 1408.5 Franchising 1408.6 Manufacturing 1408.7 Joint ventures 141

9. Global Management 1419.1 Pitfalls 1429.2 Looking through a window, not a mirror 142

18 LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS 1431. Product Liability 143

1.1 Contract liability 1431.2 Tort liability 1441.3 Strict liability 145

2. Product Liability Insurance 1452.1 Product liability coverage 1452.2 Completed operations liability coverage 1452.3 Claims made versus occurrence coverage 1452.4 Declarations 1452.5 Exclusions 1462.6 Insuring agreements 1472.7 Defi nitions 1472.8 Limits of liability 1472.9 Deductibles 1472.10 Conditions 147

3. Special Insurance 1483.1 Product mixing 1483.2 Product withdrawal 1483.3 Product damage 1483.4 Product failure 1483.5 Product extortion 1483.6 Professional liability 148

4. Doing Business Without Insurance 1495. Loss Prevention 149

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APPENDIXES1 Researching Your Market 1512 The Marketing Plan 159

TABLES1 Segmentation 32

SAMPLES1 Average Product Life Cycle 482 News Release 723 Advertising versus Publicity 734 Leaders versus Managers: Approaches to Strategy 1145 Working Groups versus Teams: How They Function within a Company 116

WORKSHEETS1 Assessing the Competition 1082 Forecasting Demand from Research Results 158

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To Ruth, special thanks for your support and contribution.

D.C.

To Diana, my wife, friend, and intrepid entrepreneur, for her constant encouragement

and enthusiasm.

D.G.

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We would like to thank Mr. Wayne Karlowsky, MBA, for his contribution to Appendix 1, Researching Your Market.

Mr. Karlowsky has 18 years’ experience as a senior marketer, national director at Wellington Insurance, and vice president at Angus Reid Group

Inc., a market research and polling company. As president of Nonsuch Communications, he is now actively involved in developing and

implementing marketing strategies for his own company.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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xix

The marketing needs of small businesses are unique and vary considerably from those of corporations. Many large corporations operate on a highly structured basis; whole departments may be devoted to developing and implement-ing comprehensive marketing plans using exten-sive resources of money, time, and personnel.

A typical small business usually lacks this sophistication.

Marketing is both an art and a science. As an art, it involves creativity and insight. As a science, it involves planning, analysis, and dis-cipline. You need to learn how to combine and balance both art and science to maximize the potential of your company and capitalize on the strengths of your personnel.

This book is designed as a practical, step-by-step guide for the small-business person. It will assist you in maximizing your avail-able resources by providing practical marketing

strategies that work for small business. The text provides general theory and advice, and the appendixes provide worksheets for developing your personalized marketing plan.

Chapter 1 gives you an overview of product marketing. In Chapters 2 to 5 you will learn how to market and plan strategically, how to segment your market and identify consumer behavior, and how to apply market research techniques that work. Next, in Chapters 6 to 9, you will learn how to develop your product, price it effectively, and advertise and promote it. How to get your product to your customer is covered in Chapter 10, and for those of you involved in retail marketing, we have included Chapter 11 to point out the special marketing considerations for that type of merchandising.

Chapter 12 discusses marketing your prod-uct on the Internet. Chapters 13 and 14 discuss the competitive edge and management in a

INTRODUCTION

101forSMALL BUSINESS

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of consulting and academic marketing profes-sionals. If you follow the guidelines and tips outlined and complete the worksheets in this book, you should enjoy increased profi ts and your customers should be more satisfi ed with you and your product. We wish you success in your marketing endeavors.

Note: This book attempts to highlight busi-ness and marketing concepts and techniques ac-curately. However, the information is general, and no legal, tax, or fi nancial advice is given.

If legal or other expert advice is required, you should obtain the services of competent professionals.

competitive world. Selling is an essential part of marketing and is discussed in Chapter 15. In Chapter 16, tips for implementing your market-ing plan are given, including advice on setting and staying on schedule and how to get back on course if you stray. Chapter 17 discusses marketing your product internationally. Finally, in Chapter 18, we deal with the legal problems you may encounter in product marketing and give tips on how to avoid some common pitfalls. Also, look for the question section at the end of most chapters. These are designed to help you focus on key issues.

This book combines the practical insights of small business marketers with the experience

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1. MarketingRemember when “Made in Japan” implied an inexpensive, poor-quality product? Today, many Japanese products are recognized as high-quality industry leaders. This change in percep-tion is due to effective marketing. Many people consider marketing simply as pricing gimmicks, advertising, and hard-sell. On the contrary, marketing is an essential management function needed to create a demand for your product. The core concept of marketing is the exchange of value between two parties: the buyer and the seller. This means that in your marketing plan-ning, your primary functions are to —

(a) understand the needs and desires of present and potential customers,

(b) select and develop products that best satisfy those customers within the lim-its of your resources,

(c) develop a program to tell your custom-ers about the benefi ts of your product, and

(d) ensure that your products get to your customer.

1.1 Understanding customer needs and desires

We all tend to assume that others’ needs are the same as our own. Understanding your custom-ers means fi nding out what they really want, and recognizing that their needs and desires may be very different from your own. Market research can reduce the uncertainty and risk of deciding what products you should present. Marketing does not try to impose a product that is not required or wanted. Effective marketing is user-oriented, not seller-oriented.

1WHAT IS MARKETING?

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uses, quality, features, brand name, style, packag-ing, guarantees, design, and options. Decisions about changes in the product characteristics are needed as the product goes through its life cycle (see Chapter 6).

2.2 PriceBesides being the amount you charge customers for your product, price involves management policies on discounts, allowances, credit terms, payment periods, transit payments, etc.

2.3 PlacePlacing your product means providing it at the right place at the right time. Distribution strate-gies involve decisions on such things as store location and territories, inventory levels, shelf location, and type of shipments.

2.4 PromotionPromotion is informing and persuading your target market of the value of your product. The major promotional tools are advertising, personal selling, publicity, and sales promotion. Which media you use is also an important part of promotion.

3. Selling versus MarketingDespite the rhetoric of catering to customer needs and solving problems, sales-oriented or-ganizations have traditionally consisted of talk-ative salespeople trying to foist their products on customers. Don’t you make that mistake!

The marketing-oriented organization seeks to make a profi t by serving the needs of custom-ers and solving their problems. The marketing concept is concerned with the fair exchange of value between the consumer and the organiza-tion. Marketing is different from sales in that you fi rst determine the customer’s needs and

1.2 Selecting and developing a productA marketing-oriented business does not at-tempt to be all things to all people. Once you have identifi ed the needs and characteristics of several markets, decide which one to serve on the basis of profi t potential, market size, and your company’s goals and available resources. Each market will be different, so you have to design different product benefi ts to meet each market requirement.

1.3 Developing a communication programOnce you develop appropriate products for your different markets, you must decide how to communicate the benefi ts of each product. You might use promotion, advertising, personal sell-ing, public relations, and media selection. All these marketing tools are explored in this book.

1.4 Getting your product to your customerGetting your product to your customer means offering your product at the right place, at the right time, and at the right price. It means mak-ing it easy for your customer to fi nd and buy your product.

2. Marketing MixFour variables make up the marketing mix: product, price, place, and promotion. You as a businessperson can control, vary, and use these variables to infl uence your customers.

These variables are interrelated and form the total package that will determine the de-gree of your marketing success. Following is a brief description of the four variables; each is discussed in detail in later chapters.

2.1 ProductA product is designed to satisfy consumer needs. Product strategy includes decisions about its

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What is marketing? 3

to foist his or her product on you. But the best salespeople take the time to listen to a client’s needs and provide solutions to fi t those needs.

4. Product versus Service MarketingAlthough product marketing has much in com-mon with service marketing, the strategy is not the same. Services are performed and consumed while products are manufactured and possessed. The following service sector attributes are dif-ferent from those of the product sector:

(a) Services are intangible, which makes it diffi cult for the consumer to inspect the services before purchase. Services cannot be displayed, physically dem-onstrated, or illustrated in the same manner as a product. For example, unlike products such as books or cam-eras, legal services cannot be seen, felt, tasted, smelled, or touched before they are bought. Because consumers can see few physical attributes prior to the pur-chase, they may feel there is a greater risk associated with the selection of a service.

(b) Services are simultaneously consumed and produced. The person rendering the service requires the consumer to be present throughout the service de-livery. For example, medical examina-tions, beauty salons, and travel tours all take place with both the customer and agent present. This characteristic limits the scale of a service operation to the number of qualifi ed personnel available. Regardless of the size of the offi ce, a dentist can treat only so many patients per hour.

(c) The quality of a service is affected by the client’s own input. A psychiatrist, doctor, or psychologist requires the

then design a product or service to satisfy those needs.

Marketing is really about listening to your customer. In a sales-oriented organization, sales-people listen with the intent to reply; marketers listen with the intent to understand.

Inventing a product without fi rst checking if it is needed is similar to having your opto-metrist give you his or her personal eyeglass prescription without fi rst examining your own eyes. In a marketing-oriented organization, your fi rst priority is to fi nd out if a product is needed before offering it.

In a marketing-oriented organization, the sales manager’s responsibilities relate mainly to the following:

(a) Determining sales objectives

(b) Establishing a sales force size and structure

(c) Formulating sales implementation pro-grams

(d) Recruiting, training, and supervising the sales force

(e) Formulating a motivating compensa-tion package

(f) Setting budget and sales expenses

(g) Developing sales forecasts

(h) Establishing ties between the different functional groups

(i) Evaluating sales representatives

A sales representative has many respon-sibilities ranging from simply taking orders to building goodwill, trade selling, prospecting, and negotiating contracts. Personal character-istics that are required include empathy, pa-tience, persuasive ability, and persistence. The stereotypical image of a sales representative is of an extroverted, joke-telling socialite trying

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(c) Lack of marketing effort: Failure to provide the required training, support, and follow-up for an effective market-ing effort erodes the commitment and team effort critical to the success of any business.

(d) Poor planning: Failure to set realistic goals, objectives, and tasks often leads to higher costs than anticipated, which in turn results in a higher price. Higher prices often mean lower sales volumes. It is common to over-estimate the rev-enue and underestimate the cost of bringing a product to market.

(e) Competition: The competition’s quick reaction to copy and improve on your product or overcrowd the market could force you out of business.

(f) Failure to adapt: Not revising goals, maintaining infl exible attitudes, arro-gance or overconfi dence, and unan-ticipated obstacles can lead to failure. Adaptability and ongoing reassessment of your goals is practical and realistic.

(g) Lack of technical competence: Not as-sessing your strengths and weaknesses, or marketing a product you are unfa-miliar with or do not have technical competence or production expertise in, can lead to failure.

This book provides many practical tips and information that will contribute to the success of your business. As you read on, keep in mind the four main reasons why a product succeeds:

(a) Use of an effective marketing approach: Answering the basic marketing ques-tions and acting on that information is essential to the success of your product. Stay in touch with your customers; fi nd out what they really need and want and where you stand in the market.

patient’s cooperation. A management consultant’s advice depends on the cli-ent’s honest disclosure of information in order for the recommendations to be appropriate and effective.

(d) Services cannot be inventoried because most are performed by people. Empty seats in an airplane or unused electric power represents lost business and can-not be stored for the next day.

(e) Services are not standardized; the qual-ity of service varies depending on where and when it is performed. For ex-ample, different sales representatives in a travel agency have varying levels of experience. Depending on the ex-pertise of the sales representative you use, you may or may not be advised of the most economical travel package. In the product arena, however, machines ensure standardization. In a service or-ganization, the quality and consistency of service is highly dependent on the person giving the service.

5. Avoiding Failure; Ensuring SuccessStatistics vary, but the majority of new products fail. Studies indicate that 75 percent of product failures can be attributed to poor marketing. In order of priority, the most common reasons for product failure are the following:

(a) Misunderstanding the market: Failure to properly analyze market needs and habits leads to a poor understanding of the benefi ts your customer was looking for. You must be careful not to assume that what you want to offer is what your customer wants.

(b) Product quality: The quality, value, and performance of your product may not meet your customers’ expectations or may be inferior to the competition.

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(d) Competitive pricing: Are your prices competitive compared to similar prod-ucts? Do you offer added value? Do you have suffi cient margins to cover your costs and give incentive to your distributors?

(b) Have a unique product: Most successful products are either superior to and/or different from those of the competi-tion. Successful businesses care about product quality and the services they provide.

(c) Technical competence: Have technical competence in the production or dis-tribution of your product. Gain knowl-edge and experience in the industry and a “hands-on” understanding of what is happening. Provide meaningful rewards to employees for good work.

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