Nonconsumers = NO sales

Copyright 2010 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
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Dennis, It seems you’re focusing on retailers more than small businesses in general.

I’ve read & listened to what Clayton M. Christensen wrote. I don’t know how it applies to retailing – especially a small store. Maybe I’m a no consumer of his wisdom.

He wrote about appealing to nonconsumption & applies it to product makers & service providers. I sell products made by others. By the time, products get to me, they’re done & I need to sell them as-is.

There are many nonconsumers & they won’t buy what they don’t want or need. I can’t afford to start an advertising campaign for each product & try to convince nonconsumers they should consume.
Some suppliers have co-op advertising programs, but most aren’t worthwhile - especially to somebody who has such a low budget.
Predictability Comes From Good Theory are you kidding me? Do you really understand this stuff?
How can a sole proprietor have time & mental energy to figure which theories apply? Who among us can summon up time & energy to figure out how to form a theory?

How can anybody who works & especially runs a business learn and remember the terms, what they mean & how to sue them?
artificial motivation nonmarket forces asymmetric skills

Give me a break. He’s definitely a professor, but I’m not a student who has time to study for tests. I live the test every day! I’m not a theory-building scholar.

I know I’m making grammar & spelling mistakes, but I’m sure you can figure out what I mean.

Seeing What's Next? When I see what’s next, I see bankruptcy.

Subject: Retailing & Nonconsumption
In reply to: "Nonconsumers = NO sales"

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.

Copyright 2010 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/
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