Strategic Planning in the Small Business

Unit 2

HO 2-4 (continued)

Capsule 1-2

Gabler Corporation

Gabler Corporation

isone of many air-conditioning and heating

companies located

in Moline, Illinoi.,. The company has dlstin­

guished itself over the

lost seventeen years as a dependable

installer of

furnaces and air conditioners.

Lee Gabler, owner of Gabler Corporation, recently

devel­

oped a strong interest in

selling a reiatively new energy saving

product--an electric vent damper-for

furnaces. Although Go­

bier was attempting to identify

a product that would capitalize

on the growing

popularity of energy conservation,

a number of

associates questioned

whether vent dcumpers were

the answer.

Lee felt vent dampers

were a natural since they

were add­

ons that would complement

the furnace business. Furthermore,

he argued

that vent dampers would result in

energy savings of

at least twenty

percent for buyers. Thus, given their

cost, this

would make them an attractive option for

energy conscious con­

sumers. Lee's

associates didn't doubt the energy saving

potential

of vent dampers.

However, they were concerned that

customers

would have a difficult time understanding

the operation and func­

tion

of these dampers. Product awareness was further confused

b",the fact that customers

couldn't see the damper in )peration.

The unit geard

to the thermostat to open and close, prevents

heated air from escaping

up the chimney when the fumace i;

shut oft. Critics argued

that given its complexity, energy-con­

scious consumers would opt for

more traditional techniques (in­

sulation, storm windows, and

wood burning stoves), ov!-r the

vent

damper. Consequently they believed that the dampers would

never really catch on, that a definite growing

market would be

a long time coming, if it arrived at

all. Even industry experts

agreed, noting that dampers would be in

the introductory stage

of the life cycle for a number of years. They

too were somewhat

pessimisfic about any meaningful growth

ever occurring.

Undcanted, Lee moved aggresively into the vent

dampers

area. He established

a damper division of the corporation, and

moved many of the businr.ss' r'2sources

away from traditional

product !;nes and

into the damper division. He committed his

personal energies almost exclusively to the sale of

vent dampers.

Through phone-call introductions

ond follow-up, in. home dem­

onstrations Lee

moved aggressively to educote and convince Ihe

public of

the tremendous potential that dampers offered. Over

a three-month period, Lee mace over 400 telephone

contacts

and handled nearly 250 in-home demonstiations

(lasting twenty

to thirty minutes

each). These demonstrations were followed by

phone calls if no

sale was made.

31

Chapter One Environmental Analysis

174