Subject: Products DO NOT Sell Themselves Author: Dennis S. Vogel
Date Posted in an earlier blog: 11:30:06 05/23/01 Wednesday
Let's Set The Record Straight -
Products DO NOT Sell Themselves
If you think they do, take a product out of its package and put a price on it. Put it somewhere that people will only find it by accident. Be sure it can't depend on anybody's or anything's reputation to gain favorable impressions.
Don't use any point of purchase signs, no sales presentations, no packaging.
Don't let anybody know that the product exists.
Don't answer any questions about it.
Don't use any attractive displays.
Don't list any features, advantages or benefits.
Don't demonstrate it.
Don't let anybody have for a trial use.
Don't offer any warranties or guarantees.
Now think about this logically - Do you think enough people, if anybody, will buy enough units to make it profitable?
If your answer is "No," then don't ever think that products sell themselves.
Dennis S. Vogel
Your business will thrive, no matter who
your competitors are, if you market it
powerfully and do everything else correctly.
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
Make Your Offers Match People's Conditions & Goals
Hopefully, we've eliminated that fallacy about products selling themselves. Successful selling requires effort.
To successfully sell a product, you have to do the opposite of what I wrote in the post above.
I'm writing some basics in this post before moving to more advanced knowledge.
For brevity, let's refer to what you offer as a product (even if you have a service).
Let's focus on a local area for a store as opposed to worldwide access for a web site.
In your business trade zone, people can buy your product in face-to-face transactions.
In your trade zone, people use your product for specific results that could be different than other areas. Manufacturers emphasize results for general users. Actual results depend on conditions in certain areas.
You should focus on results that fit conditions in your trade zone.
Example - People want cars to look good. Cars can be washed for short-term & long-term appearance.
Where I live, short-term appearance changes quickly in sloppy weather. Long-term appearance is a matter of reducing rust.
We put salt on streets to melt ice & snow, so we can drive safely. Salt ends up on our cars & causes metal to rust.
We can put wax on our cars in any season, but in winter, wax is used to resist some rust. Even if it's the same kind of wax, we buy it for different results.
In sloppy winter weather, our cars are coated by dirt. A coat of wax won't shine through dirt.
Shiny wax finishes are offered in warm weather.
Specific Results In Specific Conditions
Which results are commonly desired?
Rank them in importance to people in your trade zone.
You should consider the value people can get from competitors. How can you add more value to produce the most important result?
Can your product be used to produce multiple benefits?
Your advertising should explain how well your product can be used to produce those results in your trade zone.
Your advertising should include your offers of detailed advice.
Can people get better results by using products differently - maybe a little more or less - than manufacturers advise?
Which other products could be added to increase benefits? Which products could decrease side effects?
What Are Their Problems?
You might get insights from consumers' reviews & articles of professional critics (Consumer Reports).
You can use a search engine to find web sites people use to complain or get advice.
Some of these might be manufacturers' blogs. You might find reviews in your competitors' web sites.
Based on what you read & hear from customers, you'll learn about product limitations & people's frustrations.
You should advise customers about problems in your trade zone & how to solve those with your product.
If you don't have testimonials from local people, explain how you used the product to produce results.
After you help them, they might give you testimonials.
Meaningful Messages
If the manufacturer has pictures of people using a product, are they realistic?
Examples - If your trade zone is in Wisconsin, don't use pictures of people using a product near palm trees.
If your product is used to clean vehicles, use pictures of vehicles like those your niche members own.
Help niche members imagine themselves experiencing product benefits.
Your advertising should show what's realistic in niche members' lives, not just based on manufacturers' specifications.
Can the product be safely adapted without voiding a warranty?
Do ads lead people to have the right expectations?
Example - Paint might be easy to apply in ideal conditions.
In a cold, rainy area, is it realistic to apply primer & a coat of paint before rain falls again or the temperature drops?
Ask customers about their conditions. What can you offer to make things realistic?
What can you offer to make things as close to ideal as practical?
Does the manufacturer provide enough information for people to get superior results in their specific conditions?
Is the information easy for customers to use? Do they need it in a different format?
You should help customers determine what they need to know, so they can be totally satisfied with their results.
People need an ally to help them defeat problems. You should show you're a knowledgeable ally.
Sorted Details
Retail web sites help people sort products according to prices or other general details. Those details don't always help people choose the best solution.
Some sites have recommendations based on browsing & buying. Those recommendations don't show people how to use products.
People don't always understand product specifications. Based on customers' goals, you should help them understand which details matter more.
You should help customers compare details about products & conditions.
You can ask for descriptions of their conditions.
What's the main thing they want to change? How long has a condition existed?
When do they expect different results to start? What have they tried before?
What caused them to be dissatisfied with previous results?
You can help them be realistic.
They might expect a specific solution where a different solution is better or only mitigation is possible.
What should be their criteria for deciding about repairing or replacing a product?
As you interact with customers, you'll get insights so you can anticipate their concerns. You can prepare checklists, charts & documents for customers to check as they look at products. They can use your checklists, charts & documents at home while they check their conditions.
They can use these as guides for making decisions. They could bring checklists back to your store for discussions.
They could use mobile devices to show you pictures of their conditions. They could use pictures to show you their progress, so you can refine their results.
Necessary Costs & Risks
You need to invest time & money to get information, so you can provide advice.
There's a risk of people misunderstanding your advice.
Despite costs & risks, you need to offer unique value to compete with discount stores.
Can you offer more value than competitors if you don't offer advice?
It can be hard to prescribe solutions based on somebody else's description of conditions. You need to be sure customers understand your guidance is based on their descriptions.
When you determine the kind of advice you'll offer, you'll know which questions to ask customers.
As you refine your questions & advice, you'll learn how to help customers clarify their answers.
As you guide them to final decisions, you can help them with small decisions by excluding information that doesn't fit their conditions.
I Wish I Would've Known That Before
Imagine somebody just bought a product from a different store.
What would be one detail that could've persuaded that person to buy from you instead?
Why would somebody regret not buying from you?
"If I knew that before, I would've bought it from you!" What would cause somebody to say that?
You should have at least one superior detail like that, but more of those details would make your offers more compelling.
Superior product quality is vital, yet you depend on a manufacturer to fulfill it. That product quality is available through other stores, too.
You should control your superior details as much as you can, so you don't have to depend on individual manufacturers.
Manufacturers might change their quality standards &/or distribution channels.
It's better if your superior details apply to your whole business, not just products.
Your superior details could be how you customize products specifically for each customer & include your product selection.
You could offer free or low cost lessons or preventative maintenance.
When you have a powerful differentiating advantage, you can form a successful central marketing theme.
Buyers' remorse often happens. When it happens, it should be because customers didn't buy from you.
Thank you for using my blog.
Please let me know if you need any clarifications.
Copyright 2017 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
Your success depends on providing more value than competitors
& making compelling offers.
To get free information, you can use these URLs:
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
