Selling costly products to the bottom of the pyramid!

When phones, televisions and many other costly products came to Indian villages, they were bought by few and used by many at low (or no) cost. In early days, such wonderful devices did not sell as much as they should have. Is there a way to sell such products well before they become affordable for the masses? Possibly! Let us examine the case of one product that is going through the exact same phase - the massage chair!

The massage chair!
Recently a cinema theatre we frequent put-up OSIM massage chairs. The chair is awesome and a full body massage takes about 20-25 minutes with lot of customizations possible. This massage chair from OSIM represents costly, high maintenance equipment that is not a daily use item. Using it requires a comfortable, private setting where one can enjoy the relaxation from the massage.

Converting product into service – a massage chair “Laundromat”
Imagine “OSIM massage parlours” wherein one gets to use the chair for fixed fee. This concept can be developed similar to Laundromats. Lot of such chairs can be made available in these “parlours” with a personal cubicle.
These parlours need to be placed where:

• People with aching backs and bodies are present i.e. airports, gymnasiums etc.
• People have some time on their hands - malls, cinema theatres, spas and hotels etc.

So this single product can be made into many “services” e.g. a simple massage, aroma massage (with choice of fragrances being sprayed in the cubicle), relaxation lights and sound package etc. The concept also opens up a lot of various options for allowing people to experiment with scented relaxation-candles, special relaxation music etc. The possibilities are enormous. The idea will definitely catch on resulting in product sales the company may not even have imagined! What say?