Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Hmm tough situation.

Off the top, what if you take your product and show it different "real world" situations showing off the newer more elegant thinner profile. I'm visualizing counter tops. The great thing is it is a natural product at any thickness, so it has a green message too.

A celebrity endorsement would be great if the budget was there. Christie Alley does the Weight Watchers commercials, get her to endorse the newer "thinner granite plan". Who knows it may not be that bad, and the humour would be great.

ALso, I'd recommend reversing the buying cycle.

Push your message to the fabricator's clients and drive demand back to him. You control demand not them, the buying cycle as it exists has them deciding what to offer the client. Take back some of that control. Also push it out to designers and architects. These people spec materials all the time. Put together a small sample pack of the newer thinner profile granite.

I think that this would be a fascinating project, and one that would reinvigorate you. Good luck.

Ed Roach

I completely agree with the above post. Your challenge would be to position it in the customer's mind as the 'elegant' granite have your marketing and price position reflect this.

You can do some strength tests (in laboratory environment) to determine just how 'tough' this NEW, ELEGANT granite is. - To overcome the obvious objective

I suggest putting together a list of why less is more.
Lighter weight?
Cheaper to ship?
doesnt crack due to weight issues?

Further, look for new ways to use the thinner product. Examples might be, wall mounted, trophies, or keepsakes where thin would be better.

You have to market better to the people that recommend your product (interior designers, etc.).

Frank's got the right idea: you need to specify the key advantages of your product: price and ease of installation (don't require additional substrate for support of weight and better for do-it-yourselfers).

Thank you for the responses, I greatly appreciate this. One thing I failed to mention is that 2cm is what was used in the past and 3cm is the new thickness to use, that's the issue.

I think you've gotten some really great ideas. In addition, is there a repair or maintenance market for 2 cm granite? When a product is no longer the standard, it's usually still needed for existing product repairs and upkeep. Car parts comes to mind. Just because a standard bolt changes for 2009 models, doesn't mean that all of the old bolts become obsolete. There are plenty of cars that will need the old bolts for repairs and maintenance.

Can you repurpose the 2 cm granite? I know nothing about granite, so I don't know how reasonable this suggestion would be, but as an example, if you crush it, it can be marketed as a "specialized" gravel. Depending on how fine or bulky you crush it, its purpose and use can change. Would glossing it or painting it give it some other use or target market? Can it be used for something different, like outdoor table tops?

When I lived in Florida, there weren't any rocks (Florida doesn't have mountains). For landscaping my house, I had to buy rocks or small boulders from nurseries. Can you change your target market for the granite from bulk or wholesale purchasers, for instance, to consumers?

What about exporting it to another country that still uses 2 cm?

Thank you for your responses.