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Subject: Retailing & Nonconsumption

Author: Dennis S. Vogel

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 00:06:07 08/23/10 Mon In reply to: Give me a break 's message, "Nonconsumers = NO sales" on 22:09:55 08/22/10 Sun Yes, I understand about 50% of what Christensen, et al wrote. I haven't gotten into using it to develop products either. I focus on understanding what retailers can do & how to help retailers choose what they should stock based what manufacturers offer & what consumers want & need. Your message has a few issues in it. I'll cover the main issue. For other readers, this thread of posts pertains to these books about innovation & predicting what will be successful: The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book that Will Change the Way You Do Business by Clayton M. Christensen The Innovator's Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth by Clayton M. Christensen and Michael E. Raynor Seeing What's Next: Using Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change by Clayton M. Christensen, Erik A. Roth, and Scott D. Anthony Theory (formal study of a subject like Game theory & Political theory) doesn't have to be complex. Some Game theory scholars use long mathematical formulas to find answers. Not me, I avoid that depth. Since many words have multiple definitions, I want to start with a definition; it's from The Free Dictionary http://www.thefreedictionary.com/theory Theory A set of statements or principles devised to explain a group of facts or phenomena, especially one that has been repeatedly tested or is widely accepted and can be used to make predictions about natural phenomena. In the thesaurus section, I found - hypothesis, philosophy, system of ideas, plan, system, science, scheme, proposal, principles, ideology, thesis An example- He produced a theory about historical change. Proposal - something proposed (such as a plan or assumption) Hypothesis - a proposal intended to explain certain facts or observations Hopefully this analogy will help. Many people learn how to fight & supposedly become experts. They may be an expert in a specific martial art & do well against others who fight the same way. They may lose badly when fighting those who use different techniques. Self defense theory helps us understand & anticipate (predict) what an enemy can & cannot do in a particular situation. When an enemy attacks me, each movement changes what that enemy can do to me. Eventually, the possibilities are so narrow, I know (subconsciously) what the technique is & I can counter it. An obvious & instructive example is somebody who is spinning & raising a leg isn't trying a left jab. This is a hypothesis. Using self defense theory, I don't need to learn every martial art to fight effectively. In business, there are limits to what can be done profitably. The theory (principles) Christensen & the others wrote about is similar to what I wrote about self defense theory. Hypothesis example - A business with a small sales floor & small parking lot won't start selling cars in the usual way. It could start an alternative way that could disrupt current dealers. If those dealers dismiss the possibility of a threat, they may have trouble later. In sales terminology, there are prospects & suspects. Suspects probably won't buy a particular product (lack of money, no desire or need). Suspects probably won't hire a particular product to do a job they need done. Their needs may be different than what prospects need to get a job done. Prospects, who have enough money & motivation to buy it, are more apt to become customers. What Clayton Christensen calls nonconsumers are those I call prospects because they may buy a product. There are a lot of terms in his books that most people don't usually use. To understand & communicate the concepts, we need to call them something. Do you need to memorize the terminology? Based on my understanding of your situation, I answer No. I hope I answered your main issue. If I should make it more clear, please let me know. Also, please let me know if you want help with the other issues you wrote about. Dennis S. Vogel thrivingbusiness@email.com Your business's success may depend on you knowing what competitors don't know. You can build your superior knowledge by using these web sites - http://www.lakefield.net/~thrivingbusiness/ http://www.voy.com/31049/ [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]