One of the most important things to keep in mind when trying to make a sale is knowing when it is a good time to attempt a sale. There are numerous factors that go into the determination of a sale; a big one being timing.
Anybody that follows the video game industry will know that it has become a very large financial behemoth, with many companies releasing annual titles to take advantage of the market. Usually these games are sold to the consumer by demonstrating its special features, gameplay, and graphical advances prior to its release. Two of the biggest releases of the year is usually around November, at the release of the new Call of Duty or Battlefield games. During this time, many other development companies tend to avoid releasing their games because they’ll simply be ignored in favor of the other two giants being put out.
A good example of this is the game Titanfall 2; an extremely entertaining and fresh title created by the original developers of Call of Duty, who are considered by many to be the kings of the first-person shooter genre. Their game was sandwiched between both Call of Duty and Battlefield’s release dates. While the game was highly rated, it was a financial flop simply because it couldn’t complete with the two other entertainment Goliaths.
Knowing when to push for a sale can mean the difference between success and failure. This involves not only understanding the marketplace and potential competing products, but also the needs of your customers. If your putting out a product that is similar to a more well-known competitor’s, your customer might be forced to make a choice between yours or theirs, in which case the more well-known product might be chosen. If you take a second to understand your market and recognize your customer’s need during a time that your competitor isn’t meeting it, you might be able to get away with making a huge sale later on during a better time for your customer.