Squeezing a New Service Into a Crowded Market

Squeezing a New Service Into a Crowded Market begins to answer the question of how to successfully offer another service in what appears to be an already crowded market. Is there room for one more hospital? Another law firm? Another newspaper? Another spreadsheet? Yes, according to Dennis Cahill. He shows readers how--through theory and case studies--to define, produce, and market a new service in a field where there already exists a similar service. He provides a roadmap for successful planning and introduction of new services. This roadmap uses perceptual mapping and case applications to show how adding a new service should and should not be done. Perceptual mapping is fully described and its use to find gaps in the service coverage is detailed.

Three case studies of services which have been introduced into crowded markets are used to show how and how not to offer a new service. Cahill looks at these services from the perspective of customer design and internal development. Both practitioners of services marketing and advanced marketing students who want the "real world" application of the marketing theory learned in the classroom can benefit from Squeezing a New Service Into a Crowded Market.

Part I explores the research necessary to utilize Cahill's approach. In Part II, Cahill presents detailed case examples from his own files of how various services were offered to crowded markets--and all failed. These case analyses dissect the failures, explain where, why, and how they failed, and interpose what could and should have been done to prevent--or at least reduce the probability of--a failure. Readers will clearly see the common thread running through these failures and will be able to avoid failures of their own. Part III deals with innovation and how to handle it in a service firm.