I just finished reading "The Long Tail" by Chris Anderson and was fascinated and impressed by how well this book describes many of the changes we see in the distribution of entertainment, books, and a growing variety of consumer goods and services.
The ‘Long Tail’ refers to the shift from large one size-fits-all mass markets to one where there are many niche products and specialized offerings. We see this effect at work most evidently in places like the traditional brick-n-mortar book store versus Amazon in terms of number and type of books offered for sale.
As Amazon and others have proven emphatically is that there is a whole lot of money in the Long Tail.
Below chart is from The Long Tail Blog by Chris Anderson.
The question I kept asking myself as I read was how does this theory apply to proactive marketing and capital equipment companies?
One answer is to offer variety AND a way for your customers to sort through the choices to make a great decision. Create solution platforms that can be used to address a wide variety of applications (niches along the Long Tail). A core product with lots of options is one popular way of addressing the niche requirements of many customers.
Where I see most manufacturing companies miss here is the second part of my recommendation –making it easy for customers to sort through the choices and understand how the tools apply to their requirements.
Many engineering driven companies will think it is enough to build the tools and options and then let the customer figure out what to do with them. Salespeople in these companies need to be the force that delivers value by helping the customer understand the options and how they can be configured to solve the problems customers face.
Capital equipment companies must also find their niche. Very few products are big mass market hits and if you can make a hit, great, but it is better to know your niche and serve it extremely well.
Deliver a high value solution, specific to your target – do not try to be all things to all buyers.
Once you find your niche you need to be where the niche is looking.
They are online, I promise.
Give away the knowledge of the uses of your products. Become the expert online, be findable online, and share this information for free. Help customers understand your solutions and filter through the issues they face to find the best solution for their situation and they will reward you with their loyalty.
