American Optical/Educational Microscopes – Gaining Ground in a Flat Market

The Challenge

American Optical had been a major player in the educational microscope market but by the mid-1980's, had lost significant market share to their competitors. In a flat market, the only way to gain growth was to regain the lost ground.  Ms. Foster had joined American Optical/Reichert-Jung as full time staff for these activities.

The Solution

Reaching this market required a two-pronged approach.  To reach the end-users, Ms. Foster launched a 6-week program of high visibility technical seminars at key Fall tradeshows.  To reach the dealers and key catalog accounts, who sold thousands of other products, she scheduled personalized meetings.

Results

Startled by, but very appreciative of, the technical support and visibility, dealers and catalog houses alike swung their support to this brand. At the end of 6 weeks, with only about 1/3 of the program in place, they upped their commitment for the Spring buying season by 12% in a flat market. Unfortunately, a change in management replaced Ms. Foster before the program was complete. The new manager lacked the technical and market development experience to carry the program forward.

The impact of Ms. Foster's programming is best summarized by a testimonial from the VP of the key competitor: "We knew the day you walked into that position - we began to lose market share. We also knew the day you left - we got that share back and more".

Visit "Instructions", "Ads", and "App Notes" portion of our Portfolio to see examples of how we helped American Optical/Reichert-Jung/Cambridge be more successful.