What would happen if sales dropped by half suddenly?
What if your best seller became obsolete by a new offering by someone else?
This is the ‘secret’ to Apple’s success. You can use the same playbook if you’re willing to do the hard work.
Apple consistently plans on the demise of its best products. PLANS. There’s the key.
Most business will try to improve their weak sellers. They ride the best sellers for as long as possible—and then a little longer. Then there follows a scramble to catch up.
It is far more difficult (and dangerous) to rebuild sales than it is to maintain sales. Once a business loses substantial market share, customers drift away and prospects stop visiting the website. Then the search engines cut the ranking. The spiral is viral. It’s a tough slog back.
Build on what works. Spend time and energy on what is producing, not on what is sluggishly performing.
If an offering is working—a service—add to that service before adding other services. For example, if you clean carpets, add a stain resistant treatment for carpeting before expanding into window cleaning. If you teach Excel, add advanced Excel before offering a Word class.
Why?
You want to own a segment. (Carpet cleaning, Excel instruction, etc.)
This makes you an authority in your segment and helps with your search position.
Why the common scramble to expand to other areas when there is shrinkage in one that was working? Fear.
Get past the fear and get to work on what works.
Do it before the shrinkage begins. Small, inexpensive improvements do lead to big results. Or, you can blow a bundle on a risky new offering. What would Apple do?
Chris Reich