That analysis, in a relatively crude way, will define the market need, if any, for new 35mm cameras. They will have analysed which cameras we buy, what their characteristics are, and the prices we are willing to pay. Yes, the ones we are buying secondhand on eBay. If they believe that there is a potential market out there for a new 35mm camera, they will have looked at our needs, the needs of the 35mm film community, and the cameras that we are buying. If, and it’s a big if, their process of looking at the 35mm film camera market uncovered that there is indeed a market for some sort of new 35mm camera we may see a replacement for the F6 that has a completely different set of characteristics and cost. Having revisited all their assumptions about the market for new, high-end 35mm cameras (the who, what, how much, and why questions), Nikon will have decided that there is no longer a market for a camera with the attributes and cost of the F6. It may be that the market for (any) new 35mm camera is so small that the market (that’s us photographers of course) is quite happy to use alternative solutions to its needs that are far, far cheaper (secondhand on eBay for example).Īll Nikon F6 images courtesy of Johnny Martyr and Thomas Eisl The Nikon F6’s value proposition, however, is not just about whether there is a market for the product: that the market wants the capabilities and the benefits of them are over and above those they can get from other products from other sources – there is also the huge element of “and the market is willing to pay for it“ which very specifically applies to the £3,000 F6 film camera. In the 16-year period the F6 has been on the market, Nikon will have frequently re-validated the assumptions and market hypotheses that underpinned their reasons for developing it in the first place: to ‘check’ that there was still a market for their flagship 35mm film camera. Does the market still want it (and is it willing to pay for it)?
This is what companies do before defining and developing new products. Through this value proposition (who it’s aimed at, what functionality it has, why customers should buy it and so on), Nikon will have identified that there was a market need for a camera with the F6’s capabilities that the benefits to the group of cameras buyers customers in the target market were tangible that it was better or in someway differentiated from its predecessor and that the target customers were willing to pay for it. That story is about lifestyle choices and brand loyalty and so on (I’m writing this on a MacBook Air BTW…).įor the sake of this article, I’m going to assume that there was a sound commercial reason, a validated product value proposition, for the Nikon F5 to evolve into the F6. Yes, I know, Apple’s customers buy their products not necessarily because they need them, or knowing that a competitors product is more suitable to their needs, but that’s a whole different story.
The customer may not know that it needs them, but it is the role of the company to understand market needs and meet them. It’s the role of the company to build products that the customer wants to buy. The customer might choose to do this for all sorts of altruistic or loyalty reasons, but it’s not their role in life. It’s never the role of the customer to further the fortunes of a company by buying its products.
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