The basic concept for this article is purpose brands.
You can check a search engine for a summary of THE INNOVATOR’S SOLUTION By Clayton M. Christensen & Michael E. Raynor. The Innovator’s Solution has an explanation of a purpose brand.
People, products, services & businesses can have purpose brands.
When you establish a purpose brand, you can establish yourself as a specialist, who supports people in fulfilling goals.
Offer Ways To Control Conditions
Some products help people regain control after an accurate diagnosis. The level of control can depend on the quality of products & diagnostic knowledge.
Cheap products might bring a low level of control & value. Discounters have persuaded consumers to think cheap products are valuable.
Get people focused on product value by explaining what value is. Generally, product value is producing & maintaining consistent positive results.
Positive results can include controlling conditions. It's hard to consistently control conditions with low quality products.
Since customers can't control all factors, they need superior products & plans to control what they can.
Effective plans include instructions for getting full product benefits in specific conditions. It's why customers need your knowledge.
Your guidance adds more value by helping people understand & control their conditions.
Help people identify negative changes & choose products to maintain or regain control quickly enough to reduce damage. Coach people on maintaining control, which depends on mitigating or preventing problems.
Ask about people's conditions & their definition of control. Would they be satisfied with reducing problems or do they expect to eliminate problems?
What do people want to keep, eliminate or add? What do they need to maintain?
What kind of improvements do people want? What interferes with desired results?
Based on their answers & available resources, what can you recommend for better results?
Ask questions to help people describe problems.
Examples: Does it look/feel like __? Has it been like __? Is it better/worse when __?
When you & customers share an understanding, you can set goals, then choose products.
If people don't understand product benefits, they might hesitate especially if they were frustrated by a cheap quality version. They might not know about attractive new options.
As a specialist, get people past hesitation by explaining products, so people get full benefits.
Persuading People To Buy
Compare life with & without potential benefits. Show what's possible to help people decide why they should buy. Show how easily problems can be reduced or eliminated.
Ask questions to clarify customers' thoughts. What are they confident about? What are their doubts? What have they tried already?
People might not be confident enough to start projects if they have nebulous goals. Defining problems & solutions can reduce stress & build confidence.
People will be more confident when they're sure about what they need & how to get it.
People are frustrated when they don't know what to do or expect. You can show people what to do & expect by diagnosing problems & developing plans.
People, who can't afford big projects, might benefit from progressive incremental improvements. What's the minimum increment they need to prevent losses?
Help people plan for the incremental improvements they need most & can afford.
You can develop full or incremental procedures by combining products with instructions to solve or prevent problems.
Reduce problems with maintenance instructions.
Basic procedures are based on controlling effects of local conditions & refined from successful results. Specific procedures are based on customers' conditions & expectations.
Developing Purpose Brands
Your store's purpose is filling gaps & eliminating obstacles. People's purposes are goals. What are people trying to achieve?
Analogy: If a customer needs resources to reach a destination, what's missing? What can you add? What are the obstacles? What can you remove?
Your store's purpose brand can fit combined purpose brands of products you offer.
Example: If some products enable independent living, those products could fit a general purpose of helping people live comfortably.
A home comfort purpose is wide enough for different weekly promotions. Promotions could focus on issue categories involved in improving or maintaining comfort.
Home comfort includes indoor & outdoor conditions.
Indoor home comfort includes health, weatherproofing, furniture, storage, security, lighting, plumbing, privacy, entertainment & repairs.
Health includes in-home mobility, cleaning, exercise, heating, humidity & pest control.
In-home mobility is a concern for people using walkers, canes & wheel chairs, plus traditional bathtubs & stairs aren't safe.
Promotions Should Focus On A Purpose
Since your store's purpose is part of its brand & market position, state the purposes of your business & promotions in each ad.
Example: 'Shop at (store) to make your home safe & comfortable.' Promotion Purpose: 'Improve your health & be comfortable by reducing dirt, germs & allergens.'
Explain how products fulfill the promotion's purpose. Example: '(Product) traps allergens during routine dusting. Just seal used dusters & allergens in a trash bag.'
If your store helps people get full value from possessions, promotions would focus on making possessions fulfill their purposes.
Example: Cars should provide more than transportation. Safety & comfort also are important.
You can be an interpreter & problem solver. What do warning lights indicate? Some lights connect to multiple parts.
Help people clear up doubt & reduce stress by replacing basic parts & topping off fluids.
You can refer customers to technicians for technical problems.
You can offer: 'We'll help you find reasons if you get less than you expect from (product). We'll help you with precautions & recommend repairs.'
Offer Example: 'We'll help to get your money's worth from your __. We'll restore its full function with adjustments or repairs, so you'll __ again.'
If your store helps people do tasks, you can offer: 'Get better results in less time when you __. Don't put off (task) because old ways didn't work well or took too long. With new technology, there are new ways.'
Offer Example: 'Will (task) bring the right results? Explain what's wrong, so we can recommend the right tools, materials & actions.'
Purpose Brands Can Strengthen Businesses
Competitors could upstage hardware stores with more attractive hardware offers.
Purpose brands focus on benefits, not product or retail categories.
Home comfort purpose brands offer more than regular hardware stores by combining products for maximum benefits.
Example: If you serve people, who have limited mobility, study their needs for special shoes, clothing, furniture, exercise equipment, etc.
Your purpose can be helping people prepare for & adapt to changing conditions.
Study & fulfill local needs by adjusting product & service combinations based on the effects of changing conditions.
Discuss with customers what's practical & affordable for their current needs, then recommend products.
You can develop plans to solve customers' needs in stages.
Create options based on current needs & recommend future purchases to increase benefits of what customers bought before.
Example: Help improve customers' homes for current & future needs. Though customers might need walkers soon, they need new linoleum now. When customers need walkers later, their floors will be safe. Next, they might need a walk-in bathtub.
You can supply updated solutions as needs change. If customers want solutions now for predicted needs, explain advantages of step-by-step adjustments as needs become definite.
If needs are predictable & if customers will need upgraded products, schedule improvements just before their needs arise.
Instead of going for quick sales, show your integrity by helping customers compare the urgency of needs & potential benefits of future upgrades. Help customers avoid spending money now because better technology might be available when their needs arise.
How Is Your Purpose Brand Superior?
Explain how you use knowledge of your local area & products to help people: 1- avoid or solve problems; & 2- create or extend benefits.
If competitors only offer products, you should offer more value with solutions. Solutions are specific ways to use products to end or mitigate problems.
Explain why diagnosing problems produces better value than guessing. If people think problems are minor, they might buy cheap products.
Help people recognize trouble, so they don't misdiagnose problems as minor. Pictures & videos can show how problems become worse.
Invite people to discuss problems. These discussions are for your education & credibility, so you can find causes then eliminate & prevent problems.
Help customers diagnose problems, so they buy the right products based on a purpose without expecting too much or little. If customers expect too much or little, they might choose the wrong product or misuse the right product.
Purpose Brands Are Specific About Benefits
Purpose brands can establish high quality market positions, competitors might fail to match.
Example: Cars are made for various conditions, but you can specialize in maintaining cars for local conditions. Winter weather is hard on cars & roads.
As pavement buckles, drivers need mechanics to check for wear & tear, cracks, rust & loose connections. Maintenance services should be promoted as thorough & specific for driving conditions, locations, seasons, etc.
Some maintenance is only oil changes & greasing. Define your maintenance offer & why it's important.
Specify features & benefits of your offers. Example: 'Maintaining reliability often requires minor repairs to prevent major problems. We check for safety problems & nuisances, so your vehicle will be dependable. We'll discuss what you need to keep your vehicle going.'
This is more reassuring than "routine maintenance". Reassurance is a major benefit.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2019 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
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