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| Subject: Small Business Innovation, Part 1 | |
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Author: Dennis S. Vogel |
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Date Posted: 23:40:11 07/31/05 Sun For years, I've been among the advocates of finding & serving target markets that are too small & not profitable enough for big competitors to attract. It's even better if these target markets have NO profit for big -- high overhead -- competitors. For an explanation, use Amazon.com to look inside "The Innovator's Dilemma" & search for "chunks of revenue." Some established businesses or business owners won't change their pricing structures, even if they could afford to. Example - If you can afford to pay thousands of dollars, my mentor, Jay Abraham may help you. If you can't afford his service, you can still work with one of his protégés who don't aspire to be the highest paid consultant. That's one of Jay's business values. Clayton M. Christensen & his (book & article) co-authors have gone further. They identified reasons why companies of ANY size can't serve some potential clients. When a business's resources, processes & values aren't compatible with products/services people want, the business may not be able to afford to change. Resources (staff, suppliers, customers, buildings, machines, knowledge, marketing expertise) may not be able to support, produce or use some products & services. Processes (production methods, customer service practices) developed for one purpose or target market, don't always work for other purposes. Values (environmental concern, policies about profit level & what will be done with profits) aren't always compatible with potential customers or suppliers/raw materials. People who are taken from one situation & put into another CAN adapt more easily than a group or business can. (If there's enough desire among you, I can explain this. You can post your questions here. I don't recall any business writers who covered this or how to overcome it without starting a new business.) They may refuse to change or they may change subconsciously when they enter another situation. If they're customers, who believe customers are always right, they may refuse to change unless there's enough of a benefit in changing. NOTE- In case you disagree with what I wrote, I paraphrased some of what Clayton wrote (in more than one of his books) & the rest are my insights. So don't blame him. A basic example - When I worked for Montgomery Ward, I wore clothes like some office workers wear. Except for some days, I wore far more casual clothes when I worked in the stock rooms & might get dirty. When I worked for Wal-Mart I dressed pretty much like a janitor, even when I wasn't a janitor. What retail employees wear can indicate their purpose for being there. If they're supposed to concentrate on customer service, they probably dress like I did at Montgomery Ward. If they're supposed to do manual labor, they're apt to dress like I did at Wal-Mart. Levels of customer service & dress code are part of the values structure. Some customers at Montgomery Ward wished employees would be like Wal-Mart employees & stay away. Some customers at Wal-Mart wish employees would be like Montgomery Ward employees & provide real customer service. How customer service is implemented is a process. Employees & customers are resources. (To be continued… It's hard to put all of this information in one post & have it still be easy to read.) Dennis S. Vogel thrivingbusiness@email.com Marketing strategies and tactics are long-term issues, but you shouldn't have to wait long for sales. http://web1.lakefield.net/~thrivingbusiness/ http://www.voy.com/31049/ [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| Subject | Author | Date |
| Small Business Innovation – Setting The Foundation For B2C Success Part 2 A | Dennis S. Vogel | 21:30:31 10/28/05 Fri |
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| Definitions & Examples of Overshooting & Undershooting | Dennis S. Vogel | 23:49:29 12/23/05 Fri |
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