Create a new product so you can make profit on the market today

Create a different product

As markets become more developed, you have to work harder to differentiate your product. There is little point in small firms on low promotional budgets making 'me-too' products and relying on a budget price to survive. They will invariably get squeezed out. You must constantly be striving to think up fresh ways of adding value, tuning the service, improving the range and getting closer to the customer's needs. One of the hardest tasks of marketing is to make sure that you are remembered. If your product is the same as everyone else's, only heavy promotion will draw punters to your door. Not a game for the fainthearted.

Driving schools have been around since Henry Ford, so new starters are up against stiff competition. There are two neat solutions in my home town. One claims to cater for 'the young driver' and the other - yes, for 'the mature driver'. The logic is beautifully simple. Each end of the scale has different problems.

Youngsters learn quickly but cause most accidents and I would guess that most fees are paid by the parents, who would be attracted by a school that claims to give a solid, accident-free grounding to a driving career. Older people, perhaps wives learning to drive for the first time or those who have let their skills get rusty, will appreciate being taught by an older, more sympathetic teacher. The school cars emphasise the advantages.

The point is that all driving schools can and do teach all ages - but these two have set out to make their service that little bit different and have targeted a specific segment of the market. Price then becomes of less importance, because drivers are attracted for different reasons.

Avoid lone products

I can only recall one successful small firm that flourished on producing a single product. It discovered a gap in the market for fixing road signs on poles. By designing a one-man device, producing a unique machine to make it and at the same time deter competition, the firm now exploits worldwide markets and has made a considerable business. That is the exception. For most businesses you need a range. The hard part of marketing is to identify profitable customers and avoid forever hunting for more. Once you have sold them something find another line that will fit alongside. Treasure their allegiance, turn that goodwill into profit.

Think of Black & Decker. The power drill is a wonderful tool, but is only the start of a complete home workshop. Franklin Mint adopt the same philosophy. It rarely tries to sell you one plate. It tries to tempt you with a series, and a free display stand for the first one. Magazine 'part works', manuals on car maintenance and DIY use the same strategy. A mobile carpet cleaner should not be looking for just the lounge carpet but for car valeting, upholstery and commercial work as well. Travel agents now actively market skiing and spring holidays to capitalise on past customer satisfaction. Hire shops started life as predominantly trade outlets to builders but now encompass a wide range of more domestic plant.

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