YOUR PRODUCT

What Is Your Product?
If you are now operating a business, you already have a basic idea of what your product is. Your selection of a business was based upon some prior experience with it--either an idea you had or a skill that you possessed. You wanted to go into business for yourself so that you could put your ideas into practice and take advantage of the potential income that results from operating your own business.

Defining Your Product
When defining precisely what your product will be, whether goods or services, you must first evaluate the potential market in the area where your business will be located and then tailor your line of products to the needs of that area. For example, if you were planning to open a record shop
in a predominantly student-populated neighborhood, you would want to find out whether those particular students listened to classical, jazz, hard rock, or other types of music. You would also want to know if most students preferred disc, cassette, or eight-track tapes. Would they need accessories such as phonograph cartridges or blank tapes?

Reevaluation and Change
Once the decision about your product or service line has been made, it must be constantly reevaluated. Use your sales and inventory records to determine which items sold quickly and returned a good profit. These same records can help you spot slow-moving or unpopular items so that you can remove them from your inventory and replace them with more profitable items.

You must also be able to anticipate changes in either your market or your product so that you can react to them to ensure your continued success. Changes can come in many forms. Your basic market can shift in character; for example, the neighborhood constituting the market area for a record shop can become older (or younger), causing the demand for certain types of music to change.

Your product itself can change due to technological advances, changes in fashion or taste, or changes in general economic conditions.

Competition
Competition can frequently alter your marketing decisions. To market any product or service effectively, you must know your competition and the advantages that they offer, as well as the advantages that you offer or the steps you must take to gain a competitive edge. Too often, people tend to look upon competition solely as a question of price. Yet a competitive edge often can be gained in other ways such as offering better customer service, a superior location, or more effective advertising. Marketing support activities such as credit availability, product service, warranty, customer advice, or a more attractive buying atmosphere can also help you gain a competitive edge.

Know Your Customer
" Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. " This old adage can be applied to any characteristic of the product or service that you sell. The dress you sell is only beautiful if your customers think it is. The shoes you sell are comfortable only if your customers think they are. The storm windows you sell are economical only if your customers think they are.

Your own opinions, the opinions of experts, or sometimes even the facts are of secondary importance in selling your product or service. What the customer thinks is of primary importance. Certainly, facts or expert opinions can and should be used to influence your customers' thinking. But, in the final analysis, only their own thinking will determine what they buy.

Customer-Oriented Product Decisions
The easiest and most profitable products or services to sell are the ones your customers want to buy. Although their buying habits can be influenced through a manufacturer's advertising effort or your own persuasiveness, the surest path to marketing success is to identify your customers' needs and desires and shape your line of products or services accordingly.

1. The nature of your business should reflect primarily:

• your personal preferences
• the needs and desires of your customers

2. The most important element to consider in determining the products or services you offer is:

• nationwide fads and trends
• the needs and desires of your potential customers