The Japanese economy may be getting better, but the need for Japanese
companies to tighten their operations and develop new profit centers is no less urgent. Thus it is that companies making consumer goods are gradually shifting their focus from cost competition to value competition -- not just how little can they sell it for but how much value they can build into the product.
  
In the process, they are targeting the aging baby-boomers and the happy retirees who have both time and money to spend. Yet there are two assumptions implicit in this quest. First is that both target and family are in good health. Second is that they have financial assets sufficient to offset their diminished earnings stream. Valuable though most marketing databases are, any that does not include information on these two aspects is fatally flawed.
  
Once the target is identified, companies need an aggressive service strategy. This means showing how the product will benefit the target's life -- showing what value the product adds. Whether you are talking in-store or door-to-door sales, and no matter who you target, retailers need innovative ways to present the product and link it to the customer's quality of life.
  
Iwasa Saburo
Strategy & Systems Consultants