Product launches are an exciting time. New products mean new ways to help current customers and grow your customer base. But use caution, don’t simply move your current customers from an existing product to a new product. Position the new products so current customers will find value in using it as part of their year-round program. Additionally, leverage the new products to grow your market share and gain new customers that you’ve never had before.
“I always tell dealers, we’re not looking to swap business, we are looking to grow business,” said Justin O’Flaherty, ASM who represents Tennessee, Virginia and the Carolinas. “When it’s time to grow market share with new products, it is time to think outside of the box.”
O’Flaherty likes to have a list of scenarios ready to go before she sees her dealers-in person so they can collaborate the best way to market the new products. She said being prepared saves time and assists the dealers when it comes to ways to growing market share.
Britney Creamer, ASM who serves Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, said that VitaFerm® ConserveTM will open doors for a lot of growth for producers who have seen the benefits of including Amaferm® in their herds’ diets, but didn’t always think they could afford a high-quality mineral program. She is excited about the potential growth of customers who will now be able to get Amaferm and a complete mineral program at a price point they feel comfortable with.
“Often, producers think, ‘can we feed our family, or can we feed our cows mineral?’ We are now making Amaferm available to a larger crowd of people. I think people will be surprised. There are a lot of producers who have watched the VitaFerm line and what it has done over the years and wanted to be a part of it but didn’t think they could make it work, so I think now we are going to gain a lot of new business,” she said.
Creamer said the great thing about introducing Conserve, while already having a premium product, is that progressive end-users that are proponents of A.I. and E.T. are not very likely to switch products and will continue to use VitaFerm Concept•Aid®.
Get Out of Your Zone
Another way to grow market share is to look for ways to introduce products to customers you might not have originally thought of. For instance, O’Flaherty recently visited a cow-calf operation to discuss the VitaFerm and Vita Charge® lines with the producer. While she was there, she also saw a barn full of opportunities.
“I’m not a horse person. I went and met with an Angus breeder earlier in the week, but he had a barn full of horses. I’d much rather talk about cows, but I saw an opportunity. The more you talk about things you’re uncomfortable with, the more you become familiar. The same thing with HydraBoost. We have so many pigs and chickens in our area. If you become more comfortable with the uncomfortable, you’ll be more comfortable and be able to grow market share by expanding your product offering and getting out of your comfort zone,” O’Flaherty said.
New products are a great way to grow market share.