Final Customer Purchasing from the Product Producer

Use Steps: Use steps include all the customer's value added activities or the consumption of the product itself. These steps include all the costs the customer incurs in employing the product in its intended use.

C.
Experience: Enhance the experience the customer has with the product

2. Associate the company or the product with an image to increase customer pleasure in using the product

B. Project an image of the or capabilities of the firm

Product specialist

No.	SIC	Year	Note
1	2389	2004	The Merrell hiking boot maker's previous line accounted for 40% of parent company Wolverine World Wide's total sales in 2003. Merrell footwear maker has a reputation for its traditional hiking boots but has also branched out to fashion footwear for both men and women. The line's hiking shoes also have a more fashionable, sleek look versus their older boxier styles. Also, the traditional Merrell footwear customer has typically been older, but its new fashion-forward line has more ability to appeal to a younger crowd.
2	2731	2005	Exxon Mobil's publications, the Mobil Travel Guide books, publish reviews for restaurants and hotels and have met heavy competition as internet sites and other travel guides spring up. These new competing guides are focused on niches from luxury travelers to backpackers.
3	3144	2001	Maxwell Shoe has $50 million in cash (with little debt) and the CEO plans to license or buy even more brands. "We're deeply interested in (brands) that offer modern women comfort."
4	3571	2002	Consumers need help setting up, managing, and operating PCs and networks no less than corporations. Sony calls its PCs VAIO for video audio integrated operation. The VAIO prices were high, so after an initial burst of enthusiasm sales started falling. Then Sony introduced one of the first super thin laptops. Sony is now starting to tie its computers in with all things entertainment.
5	3571	2000	Network Appliance has developed servers loaded with special software to ease data management. Servers from CobaltNetworks have simplified Web-hosting.
6	3572	2003	Advanced Digital Information has introduced a new tape library, catering to its installed base of more than 60,000 library customers.
7	3711	1998	Volvo is also able to gain popularity amongs drivers through its commitment to the safety of the vehicles it produces. Extensive safety tests are performed in order to ensure the safety of the vehicles.
8	3949	1996	Sports Authority superstores concentrate solely in sporting goods. Stores have an average 42,000 square feet of selling space and are densely stocked.
9	6798	2003	Capital Automotive has a unique niche in that it is the only REIT that offers sale-leaseback financing to auto-dealers. It doesn't buy a building and lease it later, it buys property and simultaneously leases it back to the operator.
10	7372	2002	PracticeWorks provides information technology and other services to dentists. "One key that we're always looking for is any technologies that save practices time. It's all based around productivity per chair."
11	7372	2001	Campfire Interactive is creating e-commerce technologies that allow collaboration on product design and other development phases. Its first products due for release around July will target automotive and aerospace companies.
12	7372	2003	Enterprise content management software involves managing all the unstructured data that won't fit into a standard database. "This market is hot because people can't find all their stuff." The shadow of IBM looms large over the whole space as the company was the market leader last year with $164 million in sales. Microsoft and Oracle may also become big players. Then there are the pure-play ECM firms like FileNet, Documentum, and OpenText.
13	7389	2004	MapInfo is organized into three business units. Its location-based intelligence unit gathers data that are useful in crime analysis, asset tracking and emergency response. The predictive analytics unit provides data to predict customer behavior in a target market. Location-based services provide mobile applications for subscribers. The company enjoys a unique market position because it has such a wide selection of products and services.

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