Push and pull philosophies

Posted by Bob on September 15, 2001

In Reply to: Push and pull philosophies posted by UFO on September 15, 2001

: Hi!
: In the below-stated phrase what does "push and pull philosophies" mean:

: To move the business from a push to a pull philosophy (build to demand not build to stock);

: Thank you :)
Most manufactured things (houses, widgets, toothpaste) gets made, then put up for sale, then bought by the end user. Many manufacturing-driven companies will make stuff (that's what they're good at) and then wait for somebody to buy it. On the other hand, a marketing-driven company will wait for the demand to build, and then make the stuff. One can build demand, for example, by marketing and advertising, and the end users will pull the product through the cycle.

Take a home builder, for example. She could build a speculative home, and hope a buyer comes along... or she could "build to suit" according to the exact specifications of an interested buyer. Both push and pull have merits, since in times of high demand, you can get product to market fast (push) and feel good that it will sell. But a pull philosophy, where you uild demand, then line up a buyer who's willing to wait, can be very effective.

Most modern marketing is based on pull. The days of "build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door" are pretty much dead. Today, you might wind up with a warehouse full of mousetraps.