Product differentiation strategies based on trends in the market

After years of applying a penetration strategy, several markets of the flower bulb industry show signs of saturation. In these markets, a product differentiation strategy can offer new opportunities. Research on trends in the market could help firms develop new market strategies. The aim of this research was to determine future trends in the preference and use of flower bulbs and bulb flowers and to translate these trends into product market combinations (pmc's) which can be implemented by the flower bulb industry. A trend impact analysis was carried out. With this method the environment is scanned, the significance of trends is analyzed, and the most important trends are translated to the corporate strategy. Applied to the flower bulb industry, the following steps were taken: I) General future consumer trends were listed from literature. 2) The general future trends were used as input for interviews with trend setters in the Netherlands, Germany, and France. From the interviews about expected future developments in living and interior decoration, in gardening and garden design, and in use and preference of flower bulbs and bulb flowers, specific trends were derived. These were evaluated on desirability, probability of occurrence, and time of occurrence. 3) The specific trends were used as input for panel discussions with representatives of the Dutch flower bulb industry (propagators, growers, wholesalers, exporters). For every country, four specific trends were thought to be important over the next 5 to 10 years. In the panel discussions several translations to pmc's were made. The bottlenecks for product differentiation strategies were found to be implementation in the sector, openness to market innovation, and innovator's support. An industry market strategy was formulated in which consumer trends, pmc's, and implementation problems were translated into product differentiation strategies.