Selling the wheel; this book will teach us how to properly set up marketing strategies at different stages of a business. You have probably heard of many interesting marketing strategies that we have summarized for you through various marketing books. Those marketing strategies generally come from large companies, especially companies that sell branded products. But have we ever thought about who is behind the creation of these strategies? What do they think? What obstacles did they overcome to be able to create these great ideas?
1The book 'Selling the wheel'', which we will summarize for you now, will tell you about the history of a company's gradual growth from small to large. And what's special about this book is that it doesn't just tell us about numerous marketing strategies, but it also specifies which strategy should be used at which stage. It is a practical application book, not a theoretical one. It is very beneficial, whether you are a business owner yourself or someone working in marketing.
This book features a fictional character who lived in ancient Egypt. And he created the first product in history called the wheel. This isn't a bicycle, but it's the car wheel, the motorcycle wheel, that you all see on the roads today. Go back in time more than 2,000 years before the common era. Suppose you are the first person in the world to discover the wheel. People don't know what it is, it's not on the market, and they don't know how to use it. How would you sell this wheel? This wheel is like a new product that we have just created. No one in the market knows about it. What would you do to make them know about it and be willing to spend money to buy your product? These strategies are in this book. The author will show us the marketing strategies we should use at different stages of a business.
This book is a co-authored work by Mr. Howard Stevens and Mr. Jeff Cox. Jeff is the author of a famous book titled 'The Goal'. And Stevens is the chairman of the board of a large human resource management company. Next, we will summarize the key contents of this book, and we will divide the key contents of this book into four different parts. Part One discusses marketing strategies for when a new product first enters the market. Part Two discusses marketing strategies for when a product is experiencing a boom. Part Three discusses marketing strategies for when a product is recognized and has stability in the market. And in the final part, we will discuss marketing strategies for when our product is widely recognized and has matured in the market.
First, let's look at the marketing strategies for when our product first enters the market. What do we need to do to make it known? Suppose you were born in ancient Egypt more than 4,000 years ago. At that time, there weren't many modern things to use like there are today. Many items or tools had not yet been discovered. One day, you were just thinking, and suddenly you had an idea to create something carved from stone, round in shape, that could roll on the ground, and you named it the wheel. You think this thing can surely help the lives of the people a great deal. With this item, the villagers will no longer have to get tired pulling heavy things using only their physical strength. So, you had the idea to create a company, produce many of these wheels, and sell them on the market. Where should you start? Because at that time, people didn't know what a wheel was. When they wanted to move heavy things, everyone used ropes or used animals like donkeys, camels, elephants, etc., to pull those heavy things. Now, what should you do to advertise and get people to buy your wheel instead of using this manual labor?
The author advises that before an entrepreneur or business owner creates or brings a product to the market, you must ask yourself these six important questions. Question 1: Who is my target customer? Question 2: Who is my competitor? Question 3: Why do customers need to buy my product? Question 4: Why are customers willing to buy this product from me? Question 5: Why don't they buy the product from my competitor? And Question 6: What additional benefits should I offer to customers to increase sales?
Let's go back to the wheel you just created. At that time, the first question you have to ask yourself is: who is your customer, isn't that right? You would probably answer that our customers are groups of people who need to move something from one place to another faster and more efficiently than before. But saying that is too broad. If you say that, then the rich, the poor, slaves, millionaires, workers, farmers—are they all your target customers? The term 'target customer' must be a small, most-targeted group of people. So, for your newly created product, you must clearly define the target of who might buy it. Thinking about it, the people who might buy and use this should be those who are a bit better off, willing to try new things, and can make decisions for themselves. So, you decide to approach traders, plantation owners, or builders, for example, to sell this wheel to them.
Then, coming to the second question: who is your competitor? If you think, 'I was the first to discover this wheel, there are no more competitors in this world,' then you are gravely mistaken. Because your competitor is not a sage who can discover the wheel like you, but it is the horses, donkeys, camels, and elephants that people are using to pull heavy things. Anything that is a reason for people to choose not to buy your product can be considered your competitor. Next is the third question: Why do they need to buy your wheel? They buy your wheel because they need to reduce labor and save a lot of money on buying camels and elephants, but instead, they buy your wheel to use. Question four: Why do they need to buy this wheel from you? Because right now, you are the only one selling it, and no one else is. Question five: Why do customers choose your wheel and stop using camels and elephants? The answer is: using camels and elephants has high capital costs, costs for raising them, and is not very efficient. The final question: What should you do to increase the sales of your wheel?
The author advises that when your new product first enters the market, what the sales staff must do, besides introducing the key features of the wheel, is to demonstrate directly how this wheel can truly facilitate the user's work. Make them feel that it is truly easy and budget-friendly. Not only that, the sales staff must also know how to analyze and discuss with the customer about their needs, such as what they will buy it for. In the initial stage, when your product is new to the market like this, the sales staff is very important for you. Because their job is to sell that wheel to customers and collect money for you so you can continue operations or improve your product to be even better than before. So, at this stage, you really need smart and experienced sales staff. Because they have enough ability to assess who the real target customer is. If they meet the target customer, they will have the technique to persuade or recommend them to buy and use your wheel. But if it's not the target customer, the sales staff should end the conversation and move on to the next target to avoid wasting time.
Another thing, the wheel seller must know how to demonstrate their wheel to the customer. A smart seller doesn't spend time telling everyone one by one how amazing their wheel is and what it can do. Instead, he will choose a place with many people and perform a demonstration for them to see. Promise the audience that he alone can move a one-ton stone. If you all don't believe me, come and see. And if I can't do it, I will give each of you five coins. By doing this, it won't be long before everyone in the village knows about your amazing wheel. From one mouth to ten, and before long, this news will surely reach your needed target customers.
Not only that, the owner or seller of the wheel must also know how to present the dream to those who need your wheel. You can tell the plantation owner that if you have this wheel, you can use less labor to transport heavy things, carry more than before, and earn more profit than before. When you have a lot of money, you can hire more people to work. On the roads, in the market, all are your provisions. And you are the boss who sits at home, drinks tea, and still has money coming in. Finally, the seller must know how to use psychology to boost sales. For example, this batch of wheels has only ten units. If you don't hurry, once this batch is sold out, you will have to wait a very long time for the next one. At that point, the boss might lose a big money-making opportunity. See? These are all marketing strategies and techniques. You already know these simple techniques, but if you had thought of this point more than 4,000 years ago, you would surely have been a millionaire in that era.
In this initial stage, a skilled salesperson can help you find target customers very quickly. And it is these first target customers who will bring you profit, allowing you to do the next thing, which is to expand your sales even more. Next, let's look at the marketing strategies for this stage. One day, you receive news that the Egyptian pharaoh wants to build the pyramids. This project is huge. If you get this project, you will surely have great success and can live off it for decades. Now, you know they plan to use camels and elephants to pull heavy things, and you think your wheel can surely facilitate the work of the builders on this project. So, your company completely shifts its focus to capture this huge project. But if you only use the few skilled salespeople who used to sell for you before, you surely won't succeed. Do you know why? Because if we assign the old, skilled salespeople to talk with the pyramid construction project owner, they surely won't be able to bid for this project. You can think about it for a bit. Even though our staff knows how to persuade hundreds of customers to buy our product, this is a different case. The manager of this project cannot make a decision based on just a few words our salesperson has memorized. And they can't make the decision alone either. They have to have meetings with the team of architects, engineers, and the human resources department, and so on.
For a big project like this, they surely have many options and have to consider them carefully, such as: Before, they used camels and elephants because it was easy for them. It might be a resource they already have. The project owner doesn't care what method the contractor uses. As long as they can stack the stones on top of each other in the shape and size they want, you can use whatever method is easy. But the project manager, the builder, has to think a lot. They have to consider whether they should risk using your wheel or not. Because they have never used it, when they do, could there be safety issues for the workers? Can the capital cost compete with that of the camels and elephants they have lying around? If this tool is this new and the workers don't know how to use it, how much time and capital will it take to teach them how to use it? When they are already skilled in using camels and elephants.
At this stage, the six questions we asked ourselves earlier will change a little. First, for the first question that asks, 'Who is our target customer?' The answer is big project owners or construction contractors. They have big projects in hand, and they want better solutions and flexible payment terms, for example. The second question that asks, 'Who is your competitor?' The answer could be camels, elephants, and new technologies that are developed later, such as wheels made of wood or carts made of wood, etc. Question three: Why do customers need your wheel? Because they need higher work efficiency and hope that you can provide a solution that allows them to move heavy objects without using a lot of manpower. Question four: Why do they have to buy it from you? It's because you can provide them with a comprehensive solution and negotiable payment terms. And you have a team that goes down to help teach the foreman how to use your product for free. Not only that, in case of any breakage, you also have a team that goes down to help with repairs immediately. Question five: Why don't customers choose your competitor? Because you can provide a better solution and better service. Question six: What additional benefits should you offer them to boost sales? At this point, you need an expert to provide a special solution and good service to such a large customer. They have special needs that require us to be highly flexible.
What special characteristics does a sales expert need at this stage? First, they must be good at teamwork. Be a person who can create a special team, lead them, and prepare a suitable plan or solution for the customer. Let's take the case of the pyramid construction project as an example. A sales expert might assemble four wheels together, put a wooden board on top, and make it into the shape of a cart for use. Not only that, the sales expert must also understand some technical aspects. For example, how much weight can this cart carry? What size rope should be used to pull this cart? How is the braking done? If a wheel comes off, how should a new wheel be replaced? All of this, the expert must write down in a book and leave it for all users to use when they need it, which we call a user manual. The expert can also share the techniques and use of this wheel in various programs to help people understand its benefits and ease of use. They can take it to various events and show its benefits and practical use to your target customers. Finally, the expert must be able to learn new things and be highly creative. This is the only way to respond to market demands and the rapid changes in this market. For example, when your wheel travels on the road and you see that when it rolls over rice that has fallen on the road, it can separate the rice into good grains. Seeing this, you think of another method, widening it a bit more to become a roller. It can be used to mill rice into grains, and farmers can use it to mill rice. This is another solution that can also generate a large portion of income for the company.
Through this huge pyramid construction project, your company has gained recognition and a famous reputation. And it can also generate a huge amount of income. Both new and old customers who have used your product are all happy. And they agree to recommend your product to those who don't know it yet, and soon, your company will grow even more. You capture a larger and larger market share. But the good times don't last long. Soon, when people see that you are making a lot of money doing this, many small and large companies start producing wheels just like you. Companies of your type start to appear all over the country; there are hundreds of companies with different forms. Some produce wheels only for use on construction sites, some produce small-sized wheels for transporting food and fruit. Some do business repairing wheels, some do business cutting wood to make carts, some do business selling only ropes for pulling carts, and so on. A market like this is a stable market. What is worrying is the new discovery that your competitor produces: the wooden wheel. It is lighter and its durability is no less than your stone wheel. Importantly, they can produce it faster and with less capital. Before you know it, they have captured most of your market share, and your stone wheel sales are gradually declining, almost becoming unprofitable. Only the rice-milling roller can still generate a considerable profit for the company.
Seeing this, you called your experts together to find a solution. You found an idea that allows you to make a wheel that is more durable, better, and cheaper. Further modifications on the wooden wheel that your competitor sells in the market. You also created another type of wooden wheel without a hub. You cut out the inner hub and use straight wood to make spokes and put a hub in the center. Now, you can make the wheel as big as you want; importantly, it runs faster and is lighter than before. With this new product, you start partnering with the largest cart manufacturing factory in the country. To supply this type of wheel to them.
At this point, our previous expert who knew both sales and technology cannot be used in this stage anymore. Why is that? Because your target customer now is the largest cart manufacturing factory in the entire country. They don't need our expert to go and tell them what to do because they have experts working in this field. They just need the design that fits their cart, the color they want, and the quantity they have specified. So, what you need to do is create a wheel that meets the needs of this cart manufacturing factory. Another thing, this factory will inform us in advance about their purchase order, such as the quantity they need, the design, and the size. Unless there is a necessary case, they are not likely to change their word. Just talking is not enough. You must have a written document to confirm this promise, and to be safe, you can take a deposit from them as capital to produce this order.
Another thing, at this point, what the customer wants most is a special price. Because in the market, it's not just you; many other wheel manufacturing companies have also come to negotiate about this. So, at this stage, you must maintain a good relationship with your partner and also use your existing resources to solve problems for the customer well. Let's go back and look at the six questions we asked ourselves at the beginning. What has changed? First, your target customer has changed from a construction contractor to a large-scale cart manufacturing factory. They know very well the product they want to buy, and they don't need any more solutions. Second, your competitor now is not camels or elephants anymore, but it is a company that provides a similar solution to you, and maybe they even have a newer, more special technology than you. For example, if someone discovered an inflatable tire, you would surely have no hope. Of course, in that era, there were no materials to make such a thing; this is just an example.
Third, why do customers need your product? Because you can produce wheels according to the customer's needs. Whatever quantity or shape they want, it can all be done, plus easy payment terms and good service. Fourth, why do customers choose to buy from you and not from others? This is because you know the customer's needs well and have a good relationship with them. This special relationship is hard to be replaced. Fifth, why don't they buy from your competitor? It's because you can maintain a good relationship with the customer, have attentive service, the product quality is still good, and the price is still more special than the competitor's. There is no reason for the customer to choose to cooperate with someone else. Sixth, what benefits should the sales staff offer to increase sales? First, we must please the customer and give them confidence first. Furthermore, they must be a person who dares to make big enough decisions. Can manage internal resources to meet the needs of the customer. So, to win such a customer, having just one expert won't work. There must be someone influential and with decision-making power in the company, such as the head of sales or the CEO, whom we call the 'Decision Maker'.
In this stage where the product is recognized and stable in the market, the decision-maker plays a very important role in enhancing the relationship with the customer. They are good at solving problems and can maintain good relationships with customers and partners. Soon, you can reclaim this market share, and large companies will all recognize your ability and technique in producing wheels.
Next, we come to the fourth part, which talks about marketing strategies for when your product is widely known and has matured in the market. When customers have many choices because there are many similar products in the market, many counterfeit product makers also come to imitate our product. A market situation like this can be called a mature market. One day, you met an old customer, and he told you: Some companies can create a product exactly like yours, and they sell it at a price that is half of yours. Now, this customer is considering whether to continue cooperating with you or not. The market also surprises you. Now, you see many small and large shops on the streets selling your competitor's product, and they sell it at a much cheaper price than you. You become more and more puzzled that a product that used to be high-tech has now become something present almost everywhere.
Now, the six questions we have to ask ourselves need new answers again. First, the people who buy our wheels to use might be some companies, but most are families or ordinary people who have the need. Everyone already knows what a wheel is, how to use it; there's no need for instructions or an instructor anymore, and there's no need to custom-order it either. Second, your competitor is the wheel wholesaler and the street vendors. Third, why do customers need your product? Because your product has high standards and has been tested for safety. Fourth, why should they buy from you and not from your competitor? Because you can sell at a special price and it's easy to find and buy. Fifth, why don't they buy from your competitor? It could be because buying from them is not convenient, there's no quality guarantee, and the price is high, for example.
The final question is: sales staff at all levels must provide the customer with a great experience when they decide to buy from us, so they buy happily, buy once and will come back again, and are also willing to recommend friends and relatives to buy from us as well. Above, we have raised the key contents of this book and presented a large part of it to all of you. It is very detailed and comes with examples for all of you to understand even more easily. Even though we use the wheel from ancient Egypt as a comparison to your product in the present day, this book can truly make you fully understand the stages of a business. and the marketing strategies used in each stage in detail.