Small Business Marketing Kit For Dummies, 3rd Edition

The Care and Feeding of a Product Line

You have two ways to increase sales:

1. Sell more to existing customers.

2. Attract new customers.

Figure 3-1 presents questions to ask as you seek to build business from new and existing customers through new and existing products.

Figure 3-1: Questions to ask as you assess your sales growth options.

Products get old. They follow a life cycle (shown in Figure 3-2) that begins with product development and proceeds until the product reaches old age, at which time its growth rate halts and sales decline.

Figure 3-2: Sales follow a predictable curve throughout the product life cycle.

Enhancing the appeal of existing products

At least annually, small businesses need to assess whether their products still appeal to customers. When customers lose interest, a company needs to adjust features, services, pricing, or packaging — or make other changes to sustain or reignite buyer interest. Here are some of your options:

Same product, new use: Start by looking for ways you can re-present the product to win new purchases by established and new ...