Chapter 17 Producer's Long Tail

This issue focuses on the most popular business concept "long tail".But we should note that the long tail describes a market phenomenon as a whole, not from an individual point of view; from the perspective of retailers, not from the perspective of manufacturers.For a certain manufacturer, it is impossible for them to provide all kinds. For example, in the book market, no book publishing house can publish all books of a certain category. Many publishers work together to create a book with an extremely rich variety. The same is true for the music market.We understand that any business concept is to apply it. Therefore, for most companies, the following question will be asked when applying the long tail: How can manufacturers survive in the long tail market?

There are three possible strategies: the first is to develop towards the long tail and provide more types of commodities.Enterprises should go beyond market segmentation and produce as many product varieties as possible.Taking mobile phones as an example, it is necessary to produce multiple models of mobile phones, and each model also provides a variety of subdivided products with different configurations. Each mobile phone provides several, or even more than a dozen shell colors for customers to choose from. Second, avoid being the middle class.This is because the long tail can actually be interpreted as a "sink in the middle": In the past, some companies have always provided a variety of models of products, but compared with companies that have begun to increase their product varieties, their varieties are relatively small. Hot, not slow-moving, always in the middle.Such businesses have done well in the past, but they are most at risk in the long tail world, which is the fastest-shrinking market.These products can no longer sustain sales as the variety of products increases.

Third, establish a product pyramid structure.By providing more categories of products than in the past, companies can make profits and survive, but to achieve better and longer-lasting business performance, companies need to form a pyramid of super popular products, popular products in various categories, and multi-variety products. Product Portfolio Structure.This is because super-hot products have a sensational effect and a pull effect: without super-hot products, it is difficult for companies to establish a strong brand and market position; popular products can stimulate the sales of various products under it.This is why looking at a popular commodity alone may not be directly proportional to the input and output, but many companies still invest heavily.Only when a product pyramid structure is established and a multi-variety foundation is established, can the investment in popular commodities obtain the greatest benefits.