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View Full Version : product improvements? or new product?



rezzy
09-17-2009, 01:10 AM
Hello all,

As a general qustion, if you are selling a product, and you know it could use some improvements, yet it was selling well enough, would you make the updates or allow the sales to continue and focus on introduce new/ other products?

billbenson
09-17-2009, 01:32 AM
Kinda one of those depends questions. If it's your main revenue stream, I'd diversify with other revenue streams. If you can live without it, but it makes a lot of money, I'd improve the product if you will get more than your money / time investment back in that effort. I guess its really just which will make you the most money and give you the most security in the long term?

vangogh
09-17-2009, 01:50 AM
I think it depends on the situation as well. How often have you improved the product in the past. Do people expect regular upgrades? Even if it's selling well an upgrade could lead to it selling better as word gets out you're making the product better.

On the other hand you could also introduce something new and hold off on the upgrade till a future date. I'm not sure if there's a general rule you should follow.

dynocat
09-17-2009, 10:16 AM
I have no idea what type of product you're offering, so this may be way off base for you.

As manufacturerers we would likely keep the current product while offering a new advanced/enhanced version in addition to the original for a higher price.

Of course if this would be expensive for you to implement it may not be a good idea. In that case, I'd suggest market research or customer surveys to see if there's a market for the new version.

rezzy
09-17-2009, 11:17 AM
One of the concerns I have thought about in regards to the question is, the updates I am interested in doing will be fine tuniing the product.

For instance, lets take a car. If the car is pretty and works well, but if you need to do maintenance you have to go to a mechanic, should the car dealer make it so everyday people can make do maintenance? The improvements I am considering a more maintaince ideas, as opposed to "fixes".

Would you pay more for that ability? How can you market that "improvement"?

vangogh
09-17-2009, 11:22 AM
One way to market that kind of improvement is through the money people will save by not needing to pay a mechanic. Also the ease of maintaining things themselves.

Patrysha
09-17-2009, 10:09 PM
If the car is pretty and works well, but if you need to do maintenance you have to go to a mechanic, should the car dealer make it so everyday people can make do maintenance? The improvements I am considering a more maintaince ideas, as opposed to "fixes".

Would you pay more for that ability? How can you market that "improvement"?

But would you pay enough to cover what the dealerships will lose in long term customers...when you stop needing them regularly for tune-ups, they lose a steady source of recurring, regular income. That pays better for most dealerships than car sales too.

orion_joel
09-17-2009, 11:24 PM
Just an out there statement on this specfic topic of car dealers, "I wonder why it is that since car servicing probably is more profitable on a longer term basis then the car sale itself, so many car dealers provide such poor after sales service. Often nothing is to much before the sale, but afterwards, you have to almost battle to get anything done."

Another option go the path of Apple, with the iphone. There is almost no doubt that there are better phones out there then the iphone, and plenty with more features. However apple release the iphone with such a publicity campaign, to generate interest. Then less then a year later they throw in a few more features and speed it up and release a new model, that still does not compare to the other phones, but is marketed better. I would not be surprised to see another version of the iphone released within 12 months in the same vein, add some more features maybe speed it up a little and market it well.

If the product is something that people desire, the features often are not as important, the iphone was and is marketed as a desirable item. However improving features and marketing them in the right way can make a desirable product even more desirable. Just depends what and how you approach it.

Harold Mansfield
09-22-2009, 06:44 PM
For a digital product I would rather see updates than a whole new product..especially within a certain amount of time since I purchased it..like say within a year.

For a physi

vangogh
09-22-2009, 08:02 PM
That's what I was thinking too and while Bryan didn't specifically say it in this thread, I'm guessing the product in question is digital. Bryan would I be right if we're talking about your WordPress theme?

rezzy
09-22-2009, 11:46 PM
uh, maybe.... :) Yes, I am talking about a certain Wordpress theme.

vangogh
09-23-2009, 01:17 AM
Now how did I ever figure that out :)

rezzy
09-23-2009, 08:23 AM
Maybe its a crystal ball? Or a super computer that can read minds? Or any number of methods.

In any case, I have decided to hold on creating another theme. I am going to complete the hosting site, get that running, then move back to updating the theme. Hopefully, I wont have to many questions. .. . . Ill get to joining the Wordpress forums ;)