如何优雅地砍掉一个产品

    公司战略的转变则是另一种普遍的情况。某产品可能曾是公司业务的核心，不过几年后情况发生了变化。权衡竞争形势和市场需求同样重要。亚利桑那州斯科茨代尔的高管培训和咨询公司Pragmatic Marketing的教师柯尔斯顿•巴策说：“作为一家公司，如果我们做的事情与我们的战略毫不相干，那最好给出一个好的理由。”

    其中一个选择是撤回投资，把产品的所得利润全部投入其他项目，让它缓慢自然地消亡。不过把一个产品扔在那里也会让客户感到疑惑，也会导致那些可以为下一个大项目工作的员工分心。

    还有一种方法，那就是迅速抽身。不过由于需要进行所有必要的考虑，迅速也只是相对而言。公司可能会在客户合同中同意将来几年继续提供该产品。监管问题可能也是这样和财政部门也需要跟进，以更改账单，调整员工的销售目标。

    给顾客足够的提示十分重要。比如，一家软件公司可能承诺在接下来一年中继续支持它的产品，但不会再继续更新。失去客户在所难免。为了让损失最小化，公司可以向客户提供后续产品的免费更新，同时帮助他们完成转换。如果要彻底从某项业务中脱身，公司也可以推荐替代性产品。

    当然，公司不是一定要砍掉不想要的产品，他们可以把它卖给其他公司。企业界这样的例子不计其数。比如，EBay）2005年以26亿美元的价格收购了在线呼叫服务Skype。EBay在收购之后没有什么大的作为，于是在2009年将Skype上的大部分股权卖给了一群投资者，投资者后来又把它转手卖给了微软（Microsoft）。

    巴策曾在富士通（Fujitsu）和培生（Pearson）等许多科技公司担任高管，多年来他曾砍掉或出售了大量产品。他说：“某种产品对你的公司业务没什么用，并不意味着它也不适合其他公司。”（财富中文网）

    译者：严匡正

    A shift in corporate strategy is another common rationale. A product that was once central to a business may no longer be after a few years. Weighing the competitive landscape and market needs is also important. "If we're doing something that's so far removed from our strategy as a business, we better have a good reason," says Kirsten Butzow, an instructor with Pragmatic Marketing, an executive training and consulting firm in Scottsdale, Ariz.

    One option is to pull back investment and let the product die a slow, natural death while using any profits to fund other projects. But leaving a product limping along can also confuse customers and distract employees who could be working on the next big thing.

    Pulling the plug more quickly is the other alternative. Quick is a relative term, however, because of all the necessary considerations. Companies may have agreed in customer contracts to supply a product for years into the future. Regulatory issues may also apply. Lawyers need to get involved early in the process and, if it's a key product, so should the marketing team and finance to make billing changes and adjust employee sales goals.

    Giving customers ample notice is critical. A software company, for example, may promise to continue to support its products for a year, but that it will no longer upgrade them. Losing customers is always a possibility. To minimize defections, a company can offer customers free upgrades to any successor product and help them make the switch. If getting out the business completely, a company can suggest alternatives.

    Of course, companies don't necessary have to shut down unwanted products and can instead try to sell them to another business. The corporate world is littered with examples. EBay (EBAY), for example, agreed to acquire Skype, the online calling service, in 2005 for $2.6 billion. After failing to do much with the acquisition, eBay decided in 2009 to unload most of its stake in Skype to a group of investors that later resold the business to Microsoft (MSFT).

    Butzow, who has shut down and sold a number of products over the years while an executive at various technology companies like Fujitsu and Pearson, says, "Just because something is not working for your business doesn't mean it's not highly applicable to another."