Diluting Your Market

It’s no news how the auto industry has been rocked with falling sales, closing dealerships, and government assistance. They continue to rely on old business models that no longer work. And they are learning that the hard way.

Car manufacturers think that releasing new cars every year and pressuring people to get the latest-and-greatest is the way to go. But really, this constant push of what’s essentially the same product year after year just dilutes the impact of their marketing. Face it, there’s no perceptible change in most models each year. A slightly different fender shape or a couple of new accessories are not big updates.

Automakers rush to put out car after car and then beg us to buy last year’s model at a discount in order to make room for this year’s “innovation.” This paradigm has been going on for decades. Nothing has changed.

What if it did?

What if a bold manufacturer decided they don’t need to sell a brand new model of a car every year? What if they switched to every two years? Or what if they alternated with several models, so a new one came out every year, but of a different model so they all still only release models every 2-3 years?

Would consumers be pleased with slightly fewer choices? What if the cars only came in a few colors, or you could only get a particular color every other year? Could it change the whole auto industry to go back to manufacturing fewer cars than they do now? And can scarcity actually work in their favor a little?

Sometimes, you can offer your customers too many choices. Or you may be trying to update your product a little too often with too few benefits. It dilutes your product and your message. Do you want to do many things, or do just a few things really well?

Forget what everyone else in your industry is doing. What can you change to make your product and company better?

image: saebaryo