Steps To $uccess In A F(l)ailing Niche Market
1. Focus Your Approach
Employ one foolproof marketing strategy per cycle (9-12 months):
-New Color
-Lightweight
-Suspension
-Hip/Notable Team Member Addition(s)
-Improved Technical Gimmickry Makebelieve Detail
-To Skin or Not To Skin?
-Revolutionary Material
-New Logo
-"Skater Owned"
-Magical Fit
-New Color (no: ANOTHER new color)
2. Upsell
Considerably fewer customers? No problem! Supplement emaciate revenue by fattening margins. Price implies quality and sells enthusiasts seeking an edge. Understand that nearly all remaining participants can now be considered enthusiasts.
3. Capture Repute Worship
As a category shrinks to a certain size, it begins to resemble a pyramid marketing scheme -- at some point it actually becomes one! Fruitbooting has descended upon such a precipice. Rely on thy faithful to donate in droves: dutifully convert notoriety to profit. Penance to pennies.
Donate ~20% to third party payment processors and content distributors. It beats retail markup... RIGHT?!
4. Invent To Expand
Rebrand an existing angle for thing that is slightly related to activity. Persuade stakeholders that thing is truly different; but similar, needed and desireable through relentless soft marketing and product placement. Thing will sell in a big way despite its marginality and general suboptimization for most participants' practice of activity.
BONUS: Employ #2
5. Mix and Match
A successful approach might employ several of the concepts described above. For example, a brief cover might read Capitalize Suspension Marketing Now, Deliver Later (if convenient)
anonymous on #
all sad but very true
chris on #
Adapt is skater owned and makes quality products. its not fair to compare Adapt to Seba or any other boot co right now
juan on #
yea what´s wrong with adapt, they sell very few and are "handmade" in europe... (i suppose).