Copyright 2008 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
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I read & commented on another Inc. article. Here's the URL-
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20080901/how-i-did-it-rick-alden-skullcandy.html#sound_off
It's a short article. I wish it had more of Rick Alden's insights.
Continuous learning is essential for lasting success. But you need to know how to build on what you learn so you can apply it & keep building. When you learn from the results of your applied knowledge, you need a way to add your insights to what you knew before.
This is the best "How I Did It" I remembering reading.
It may be the best because Rick Alden feels competitively secure enough to share his wisdom & knowledge.
Without knowing him, I think half of his wisdom & knowledge were probably learned. What he learned is an infrastructure & he figured out what more he needed & needs to learn & installed it on his acquired infrastructure. As short as this article is you can learn some of his wisdom & knowledge.
Also, learn to build on your acquired infrastructure.
Example: You may've learned about using aspirations to find market niches. Figure out which aspirations your product/service helps people &/or firms fulfill. Some want to feel & be perceived as cool. Does your product/service help them fulfill this? How does it help them do it? How can you help them perceive your product/service as a tool to achieve what they want (so they'll buy it & benefit)?
There are at least 3 points of the "cool" spectrum--Those who want to reach out & achieve it (usually young people) & those who want to reach back & regain it. In the middle are those who have it & want to hold/keep it.
You're lucky if you can sell to all 3. But by focusing on 1 group, you may alienate the others. It may just be a fact of life & you'll have to deal with it. Example- A cool product may seem great to those who aspire to reach it or reach back. But to those who have it, it may not seem cool when others have it. Can something be cool when those who seem uncool have it?
It seems Rick Alden found the sweet spot, for now. It may not last. If the currently cool group notices too many wannabes & "has-beens" using the products, they may move on to something else.
Alden knows he can't afford to lose anybody, but appealing to all of them will be harder in the future. Sometimes what matters is a visible product. Soon, what may matter is a visible brand (more below). Can Skullcandy successfully market multiple brands without customers feeling Skullcandy sold out? In small niche markets, people probably want to feel vendors understand them uniquely. They may not understand or want to understand a firm can intimately understand multiple niches.
It can feel somewhat like adultery. As irrational as it may seem to you, consumers want you to be faithful to them. They want to feel like your 1 & only--or at least your few & only.
When a small number of a socially visible product has been sold, people may just want to be seen using/wearing the product. But when it becomes common, people may want a different style. They want some distinction so they can be a unique part of a group. They want to accepted by the group & recognized by nonmembers as part of that group. But they want to be unique individuals. Providing products/services to fulfill these expectations is challenging.
The brand becomes important so it's obvious they don't have a knockoff like some wannabes would have.
Skullcandy can't afford to produce too many units & overshoot demand, but it needs enough to keep retailers stocked & maybe prevent knockoffs from taking display space.
Quickly changing fads & trends can be beneficial. If Alden is still lucky, maybe knockoff producers will be stuck with unsold inventory because they came to the market too late.
It may be too expensive for them to survive if they misjudge a few times.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2008 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
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