Xigaware

For any business to survive there are several keys. First the business must offer a great product. Second, the business must effectively manage its costs to produce that product. And third the business must have great public relations and marketing communications.

Even if a business has a great product and can manage productions costs, without good marketing advertising and public relations, it will not succeed. There have been many businesses with the first two keys that have missed out on the third and they are now history.

Marketing public relations has to do with a businesses reputation. Businesses that do not have a good reputation are destined for failure. A business that begins with an inferior product may be destined to failure even if it later improves the product. Reputation damage has already been done. It may be too late already to get that business back on track. It may always be associated with a bad product.

The public is willing to forgive a company that has a good reputation for a model that does not meet their expectations. If that product is quickly replaced it goes to actually reinforce the public image of the company.

We are not saying that it is an impossibility for a company to begin with a poor product to succeed. We are saying that it is going to take work in the area of marketing public relations.

There are several ways that businesses can overcome such temporary setbacks in reputation.

If your product is small, offer free samples. How many people remember the bitter diet sweetener saccharine? Those little white pills dissolved easily enough and did give the food a sweet taste, although it was a bit like drinking earwax. In 1983, a free gumball came in the mail that contained an artificial sweetener. Overnight, the reputation of artificial sweeteners changed. The brilliant public relations director of Nutra-sweet had changed the image of a product and people began to insist that everything use aspartame as the sweetener.

If you cannot offer samples, improve your warranty. This is the strategy that has been used successfully by Kia motor company in the United States. Their first vehicles were not good cars. As they began improving their cars they also offered longer warranties than anyone else in the United States. No one else in the industry at the time offered anything close to the 100, 000 mile ten year warranty of Kia. They warranty with a heavy advertising program has helped to bring them a healthy share of the American market.

A better price can also help to overcome a former bad product. People may overlook a former bad product if you currently offer a better product at a lower price. The nickels and dimes strategy says to begin with a low price for a better product. If your product is equal to or better than your competition, you will gather a following that is willing to over look your past mistakes.

A good public relations & marketing will overcome past problems and move your company to the forefront in becoming a great company. You can overcome problems of the past and offer to the public a great product that will fill their needs.

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