Consider the flashlights of a two decades ago. They were sold primarily in outdoors stores – the kind of place where you bought camping gear. They cost a few dollars, were almost entirely made of plastic, generally with a poorly fitting pieces, and were pretty close to disposable if you dropped one on the ground. I can distinctly remember repeatedly batting a cheap flashlights on my hand to to get it to make a connection and light up again – usually at a time when I really needed a light source.
In 1979 a company in Ontario, California decided to develop an entirely different kind of flashlight, evidently realizing that a flashlight was often used in less than ideal circumstances (power outage, camping in the woods, changing a tire late at night, and that these instruments had to be something that could be relied on to work.
The product engineering team developed an entirely different type of flashlight, made from aircraft aluminum, included a spare light in the base of the flashlight, came with a lifetime warranty against defects, are water resistant and provide a focusable light. http://www.marketresearch101.com/files/images/MagLite_0.thumbnail.png In addition, Maglites are renowned as being extremely durable (and have even been used as batons for self defense in certain circumstances. In one of the early advertising campaigns a Maglite was driven over by a tractor trailer and was still fully operational, cementing their reputation as a product that could be relied upon in any circumstances.This is a great example of how one company with a vision and strong customer insights can completely change a product category to add customer values that is worth significantly more than the standard product.
Kind of makes me think of Starbucks!
Know they customer,
Chris Hawkeschawkes@marketresearch101.com <
http: www.MarketResearch101.com</a>
