In a competitive market, the main difference is always to have a plus in terms of commodities and services. This difference is every time less perceptible in the items ¨price¨ and ¨quality¨, that occurs to be the main condition to keep the business on the market.

What to do to be the number one? The answer is to aggregate more services to the commercialized products

But how to define service?

In the concept of modern marketing, ¨service is everything that has a relationship with the main commercialized product, but if it is not the main product, it must to have a lower cost (generally up to 20% less than the main product) that can represent an added sale. This sale is made by impetus and generates in the consumer the sensation of the best use of the investment¨. Thence it follows that there is a differentiation to the market that generates fidelity of the consumer.

Examples of added services:

- An air conditioning or sound system settled in the car on cars sales stores represent a small value in relation to the vehicle price, but allow to the buyer a best enjoyment of it..
- In supermarkets, small displays near the check-outs offer products with a great appeal to our senses (visual, olfactive, or tactile). Despite those products hardly cost over R$ 10, 00, they represent added sales up to 10% of the medium sales of the stores..
- At gas stations, we can see a growing tendency for ¨convenience stores¨ that offer the fuel consumer a wide mix of products that generates an expressive increase in average sales.

Besides, we could remind many other examples that make part of our day by day that, in most part of it, we not even notice.In all these cases, the goal is to let any trade point more attractive, increase the average sales and gather the fidelity of the consumer. The results can be measured by $/m2, $/employee, $/operation, $/visit, etc.

It happens to be world wide and in every type of business.

How can we apply the added service concept in sales of shoes, purses and leather goods in general, whatever natural, artificial, or alternative materials?

The logic answer remains on the fact that any consumer, male or female that acquires a pair of shoes, or purses, or any other accessory, will have to do its maintenance. The better place to its acquisition is, no doubt, the same trading point where that article was purchased.

A nationwide research (male and female) showed that the purchase of a pair of shoes motivates in average two visits/year of the consumer to the sales point; a product for maintenance reaches eight visits/year of the same consumer to the sales point. Under this point of view, the grid of maintenance products is similar to the credit department of a store, where the consumer has to show up every month in order to pay his debt.

An important second item is the barrier that the sales men oppose to the products for maintenance and conservation in the leather stores. It happens due to the false premise that any leather goods will have the life extended, if maintained with a proper product. They conclude that, if a leather good has its life extended, their sales will decrease and, in consequence, their profits too. This is a great mistake, because any product is projected to have a lifetime that depends basically in 3 factors:

(a) The material utilized in the fabrication line (leather of best or worst quality, etc);
(b) The fabrication process (sews or glue, etc);
(c) Way of wearing in its lifetime (way of walking, etc).

Well, if the maintenance doesn’t extend the lifetime of the article, which will be its finality? A pair of shoes, for example, projected to have 1 year lifetime, can last longer with a better or worst looking. The maintenance with a proper product allows the shoes to have a better performance, near to a brand new one.

Barriers in shoes sales and leather goods can be wiped out if solutions can be found for the consumers’ frequent asked questions. More difficulties can be found in the purchase of more sensible materials, due to the quick deterioration of its looking (mainly chamois, nobuck, antelope). Despite its beauty, comfortable e easy-to-use, its original looking is easily lost, mainly in colors, touch and softness. With the possibility of solving the problems about the material, the barriers for the purchase soon disappear and so the commercial intercourse is easier. The same way an increase of 2% to 3% is added on the sales when are offered to the consumer products that allows to adapt shoes that have fitting problems, like half number, bad fitting, etc.

For the reasons shown, we can enumerate some of the huge advantages to the trade point with a proper line of maintenance products for leather goods or in alternative materials.

1. The maintenance products increase the sales opportunities of the main articles of the store, increasing the time of visitation; the consumer spend up to 4 times more in the store ( goal of every business men).
2. The maintenance product doesn’t reduce the amount of sales, once its lifetime isn’t extended. What it does is increase the use and looking of the product during its lifetime. This no longer gives the consumer a sensation of reliability and fidelity to the trading point.
3. The proper maintenance wipes out barriers of certain kinds of materials, making easier its sales and increasing the commercial intercourse.
4. The maintenance product when displayed is an attractive product that helps to bring the consumer inside de trading point.

As exposed, we can notice that, in the European and North American markets where the use of these products are traditional, the beauty, maintenance and conservational products for shoes, purses and clothes give support and improve the general sales of these products, by bringing to the consumers solutions to the problems.