In the days when desktop computers were first introduced into the workplace, use of typewriters began to decline. A manufacturer of mobile typewriter stands saw the writing on the wall: demand for their product would drop significantly as new “workstations” were being designed to accommodate computer usage.
Responding to Change
Around the same time, fax machines were also becoming standard office equipment. One day, a sales representative for the typewriter stand company had a breakthrough idea: why don’t we sell typewriter stands as fax machine stands?
The manufacturer changed almost everything. New name. New description. New label and packaging. New promotional materials. But one thing they didn’t change was the product itself. They successfully sold it as a fax stand for many years.
Multiple Categories Reach Multiple Markets
Repositioning a product worked back then and it works today. In fact, our capabilities for positioning products for multiple uses across multiple channels is greater today than ever before.
Take a utility table designed for an industrial setting. We might develop a strategy that repositions it for use in a high school STEM classroom. That same approach can work with a broad range of products from office supplies to furniture to technology aids.
When repositioning, it’s important to work closely with resellers’ organizations to identify appropriate product categories. Sometimes it’s a matter of rewriting product descriptions to emphasize different details or putting a different prop in the product photo. It may even be necessary to change the product title.