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Problem. The Marketing
Manager for a laboratory equipment manufacturer contacted T-21.
A few years ago, sales leveled-off, and were now
declining. One of their mainstay products, used by
dental labs to shape and polish molds with glass micro-beads, was in the most
trouble. He concluded by saying, "I've got to find out why its sales are declining and what
we can do about it."
Analysis. With the
Manager's approval, a T-21 Product Research Team found that the product's market was saturated;
the sales potential just was no longer there. Their
Preliminary Report suggested that, to increase sales of this product, other
uses for it must be found. With the company's approval, the
Research Team looked at other markets that might use the same type of
equipment for different purposes, and identified four possible
targets.
The T-21 Team researched each of
these target markets and outlined how the company might cosmetically alter the basic
lab-model for each one, then try new marketing campaigns and channels,
to introduce and promote them.
Results. The company
selected one of the recommended markets and followed the Team's suggestions.
Twelve months after the new market debut, sales were sufficient to offset the declines in the dental lab market.
The Marketing Manager concluded that if this new market continued to grow, the product line would be restored as a
high-value profit center. He said, "If the other three
alternative markets, you all recommended, have similar success, this
could become the number-one profit leader for the whole company."
"I'm impressed with the way that you
all got everyone here thinking outside the box on this," the Manager
told his T-21 TM. "Things were a little bleak here for
a while, but your new approach to
our old problem kind of bumped us back on-track here. We really
appreciate what you did for us."
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