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beloved of economists are not always borne out in practice. Some people
prefer to pay a price premium if they perceive it as being indicative of qual-
ity and desirability. When I was a youngster in Harpenden there were
those motorists who parked on double yellow lines not because of any
shortage of parking spaces, but as a snobbish indication that they could
afford to pay traffic fines. There are many workable pricing strategies that
can add to revenues and/or profits. A comprehensive description appears
in my Key Management Solutions.

Profit An essential prerequisite of being in and staying in business.

Public domain Refers to software that anybody can use or modify with-
out authorization as well as to research and opinion that anyone is able to
use. For example, all the research quoted in this book is either my own or
in the public domain. By writing up my own research in this book I effec-
tively give any reader the right to use it as they see fit.

Q

Question marks The fruits of research and development that require
major investment and that have yet to prove themselves in the market-
place. Potentially the stars and cash cows of the future, but possibly a
major drain on resources if they have not been developed with the cus-
tomer in mind. Simply asking the questions: “who will buy?” and “why will
they buy?” can turn brain children into money machines.

R

Relationship marketing Knowing customers well enough to be able to
satisfy their desires more quickly and economically than competition can
hope to.

Relative market share Your share of your chosen market divided by the
share enjoyed by your largest competitor. When your share is a consider-
able multiple of that of the best of the others you are on your way to
market dominance.

Repeat purchases The cost of winning the first order is relatively high.
Companies should be focusing on encouraging repeat purchases that are
both more frequent and bigger as the key to low cost growth. They should
also look to increasing the size of initial orders, possibly through risk
reversal. In other words the supplier rather than the customer assumes
the risk of the initial purchase in return for a larger, more profitable order.

Research and development (R and D) Too often a group of devoted
people for whom even the best is not quite good enough. As a result of their

Glossary (and soapbox) 241