There are literally thousands of examples of companies who have
had spectacular failures by trying to make their product better.
Coca Cola conducted taste tests for years before coming out
with a “better product”—new Coke. New Coke
had an advertising and publicity blitz virtually unmatched in
the history of a new product introduction.
New Coke lasted about 3 weeks before it was recognized as a
super failure, and Coca Cola make a quick reversal and refocused
on “classic Coke”.
In marketing, the product simply isn’t the most important
thing if you want to be financially successful.
The most important thing is the perception the customer has
about the product. (Granted, there must be a need for the product.)
If you are trying to make money with horses, then you have a
limited number of products or services (means to satisfy needs)
to offer…..the sale of horses, the training of horses
or the teaching of riding and showing skills.
Your physical location is still an important asset in most cases.
People don’t want to travel a long way to take lessons…they’d
prefer to have their horses trained nearby, and they most often
like to purchase a horse close to home. So the need for the
same kinds of products and services is repeated again and again
about every 100 miles.
If perception is more important than product, then how do you
sell a horse and make money?
You offer the potential customer the perception of a satisfied
desire.
The customer isn’t buying the horse…the customer
is buying what he or she hopes is going to be “satisfaction”.
And the higher the perceived potential to satisfy the customer’s
desire, the bigger the profit margin is going to be; the more
money you are going to make.
You have a horse for sale. The first thing you do is decide
who is going to buy the horse. Let’s say you decide, based
on what you know about the horse, that the best customer for
the horse is a young girl just getting started in barrel racing.
Don’t offer: “young, gorgeous registered horse well-trained
for anyone in the family to ride in all-around events or down
the trail.”
That horse won’t satisfy your customer.
Offer: “proven winning barrel horse needs a rider to love,
care and ride him to blue ribbons at local area shows.”
The perception of buying at McDonald’s is “fast”
food.
Burger King was a real competitor when it offered “have
it your way.” But Burger King fell way behind when the
company tried to match the McDonald’s perception with
“fast food for fast times.”
Burger King can’t sell fast…success can only come
if the perception offered is changed. Burger King was a better
competitor when it offered “flame broiled.”
Wendy’s is going right at McDonalds with the offered perception:
“way better than fast food.”
Notice that none of the big three are selling good tasting hamburgers.
The perception is more important than the product.
You don’t sell a horse. If you try, you’re going
to be complaining that the “horse market is bad.”
Don Blazer teaches the course The Business of Making Money With
Horses for www.horsecoursesonline.com
