Cebu's Butch Carungay wins Asia Jewelry Design Gold - Planters ...

marketing• The product or service category isobsolete. When was the last timeyou sent or received a telegram?Remember the famous handpager of the early 1990s? Bothhave long been replaced by themobile phone.A comprehensive market researchstudy done on the ailing brand will reveala lot of information about the targetmarket’s negative sentiment. The studywill surely reveal a long list of weaknesses.The question is whether the product canaddress them given its present design.There are products whose demandmay peak then slide within 5 years. Somemay even fall below the consumer radarwithin 18 months. Information technologyproducts are susceptible to this condition.Fashion related products come and gowithin a six month period, so you havedesigners working on new ensemblesseason after season.Before you decide to de-list a brand,first consider the possibilities that couldbe done to save it.1) Reformulate the ingredients ofthe brand. Make your product domore for the consumer at a lesserprice. Or offer the reformulatedproduct as an extension tothe primary variant to provideconsumers a wider selection ofchoices.2) Review the product’s packagingdesign. Some products mightnot sell simply because it is nolonger convenient to carry orstore. There is a health drink thatlooks like sludge. To make thedrink look more appealing, thebrand managers decided to putthe product in blue PET bottles,which did the trick.3) Resize the package to a fewmore wallet friendly sizes if it’sa price elastic product. Whoneeds to bring a large tubeof toothpaste on a businesstrip when all you need fits ina sachet?4) Look at another demographicprofile that may have a higherconsumption level than yourpresent consumers.5) Consider a new sales channelwhere the product is notavailable and is a valuablecontact point of purchase.6) Enter a new geographicalmarket that may not haveheard of you yet and re-growthe business from there.7) Restate your product promisethrough a more dynamicadvertising message and havemore invigorated creativeapproaches to generaterenewed awareness andpurchase interest.8) If you are in a service orientedbusiness, look into improvingyour service satisfactionrating through a moreinnovative and proactivecustomer service approachand delivery.If these actions are not feasiblebecause of the costs involved or stillfail to give the brand a second wind inthe marketplace, only then should theproduct be put to sleep. Otherwise,marketers should continue to lookfor ways and means to reinvigoratethe brand by introducing new andbetter consumer propositions, so thatthe market equity it enjoys can besustained or enhanced.Shutterstock photo / Andres Rodriguezvol. 2 issue 3 2007 / 27