How Will You Improve Customers' Lives Today?

In my previous article (Offer a Full Range of Better Benefits), I wrote about people trading up. It means they buy high priced, high quality product versions. They reject middle quality products that have lower beneficial functions.

Based on what Michael J. Silverstein & Neil Fiske wrote in their book "Trading Up: Why Consumers Want New Luxury Goods" & some articles, trading up isn't only based on logical benefits. People want emotional advantages of status, satisfaction & comfort. Some brands & products are chosen based on consumers' statuses & personalities.

Mid-priced products without emotional engagement could face "death in the middle".

People will buy commodities to save money because they won't spend extra for average products. They buy low cost commodities, so they can afford other high quality products.

Some mid-level quality products are barely above commodities. Unless mid-level quality is perceived as worth a mid-level price, people trade down & buy low cost commodities.

It can be hard to quantify mid-level value & prices. Example: Are 25% better results from a mid-priced product a better bargain than a 25% cheaper commodity? It might not be enough to make a product worthwhile.

If a mid-quality product is $25 & a high quality product is $50, you can discuss advantages, priorities & restrictions. If mid-quality product results won't fulfill people's top criterion, trading up for high quality feels necessary.

Guide customers' decisions with questions. Example: How long are the results needed? Explain the advantages, so people can choose. People trade up to buy from among the top tiers of luxury. Example: Luxury cars have various options like leather seats. People might opt for basics (regular seats) because a brand as a status symbol is more important than optional features. Seats aren't publicly conspicuous.

Status is a result people will gladly buy. Ask which results are people's top criteria, so you can provide maximum satisfaction.

Reputations for People & Products

When status is the desired product result, it's a matter of product reputation.

When there's one chance to make a great impression, some people don't settle for less than the best. They buy products with reputations for dependable results & might still need your advice to use products for optimal results.

When people's reputations depend on your advice, you can build a reputation competitors can't match.

When their reputations are at risk, people might trade up to avoid negative perceptions. When people trade up, they spend a lot of money, so you can justify investing in knowledge you need for superior customer service.

You can help people realistically invest to fulfill their criteria. What are the long-term advantages & disadvantages of fulfilling their minimum criteria? How much more would it cost to fulfill their maximum criteria? Is that improvement worth $XX?

Since establishing & maintaining a reputation is a high priority, people are willing to invest in high quality results. When your store is linked to high quality, you can attract people based on their priorities. Example: 'We have what you need for high quality results because we know how important your priorities are. So, never compromise when you need __.'

Ask for details to help people trade up to get functional improvements like durability. Ask about how products will be used because durability depends on quality & conditions.

How do customers expect products to make their lives easier? How do they expect higher quality products to improve results?

With those answers, you can help customers choose satisfactory products.

People might trade up to avoid disappointing recipients who depend on a result. To help people be satisfied, ask about their roles & what they expect.

Role fulfillment can involve using products to produce results for others. Example: When parents pay for higher quality because they want what's best for their children.

How Will You Improve Customers' Lives Today?

You should know how each of your products & services can be used to improve customers' lives, so you can make compelling offers.

Some aspects of compelling offers are: preventing or mitigating damage; reducing stress by resolving issues; easy to implement solutions; increasing enjoyment & satisfaction; &/or decreasing pain & dissatisfaction.

As you review current inventory & suppliers' offers, consider how products prevent problems or improve the future. Also consider what you can combine to make easier, more satisfactory offers.

Is a product, service or combination a commodity commonly available in many stores? If it's a commodity, competition will probably be based on convenience &/or price.
Your offers should be proprietary because eventually it becomes harder to increase convenience & decrease prices. You can make some product offers proprietary by adding services &/or information.

When you have proprietary compelling offers, consumers might recognize the value & pay profitable prices. If it's a proprietary offer, competition will probably be based on functionality, durability &/or dependability.

People might trade up to buy it.

Qualifications & Quality

When people want to trade up, vendor credibility can matter because people expect the best results without frustration. When a store seems to lack credibility, people might reject it to avoid frustration.

Establish credibility by asking questions that elicit meaningful answers. Example: You might suspect damage is caused by mice. When you know mice enter through very small holes, you can ask customers to describe their walls. Using poisons won't help much until the holes are patched.

Competitors, who have less information, can be less qualified to offer solutions.

You can be more qualified based on how you use product & local information to combine products & services into solutions. Learn enough to connect causes (holes), effects (damage) & desired results (fixing damage & banishing mice). Example: People will be frustrated with poisons & traps. Poisons & traps don't fix the problem because they can't keep mice from entering.

You can offer repair products & information about finding mouse holes. Example: 'We'll help you fix the real problems instead of selling what seems to be right.'

Increase your qualifications by answering these questions: Which problems arise locally? What are the possible causes? What worked before & what made it work? What could've made it better? What's changing & could make different products & skills necessary?

What would make products better suited for changed conditions? Depending on what customers need & can afford, which products are good, better or best? They might stop the damage now. When they can afford repairs, they might choose basic repairs & trade up later. You can help people step up until they can trade up.

People can afford to trade up when they reduce other spending. You can attract them by helping to reduce some spending with plans. When people have plans, they can buy what they need without spending extra.

When you provide instructions, people can have money for trading up because they avoid waste by using materials correctly. As you obtain products, learn the skills for producing the results, so you can add instructions.

If you don't find applicable instructions, adapt an instructional model from similar project instructions.

Develop Trade Up Offers

To help consumers plan their best experiences, you need to know what their best options are.

Use these guidelines & questions to develop offers people will trade up to buy.
What's happening now/recently happened/will happen & how can this product (combination) make it better?
How can we help customers use this product (combination)?
What's the maximum value in this product line?

Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2019 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/

Offer a Full Range of Better Benefits

Depending on people's goals, you can combine top-level products & good enough products. In some cases, people want good enough results, so they trade down. When people want high quality, they trade up.

Example: If people want an outdoor furniture set, they might invest in high quality chairs & a medium quality table.

Offer products in contexts of enhancing experiences or solving & preventing problems.

People might buy from discounters without knowing how well products fulfill goals.

People might get inferior project results because they don't know how to do unfamiliar steps.

Your full product & benefit offers (including checklists & instructions) can help people avoid mistakes & wasted resources.

If you can't offer a full range, team up with businesses offering what you don't have.

You can offer plans & methods based on local conditions, plus goal-compatible tools & materials. Example: ‘We suggest options based on your needs, goals & resources, so you get reliable results & avoid unpleasant surprises. Effective, efficient products & methods make results easier & longer lasting.'

Even if people can start projects, they might lack resources to finish. You can offer options to do projects on a comfortable schedule. When you provide step-by-step plans, people can buy products they can afford for each step.

Broadest Possible Benefits Can Improve Experiences

Task results can be self-expressions for personal satisfaction &/or public display.

Some people are motivated by the satisfaction & pleasant memories of producing results. Others grudgingly do what's necessary & feel relief when they finish. When you understand people's reasons, you can make compelling offers based on producing their desired results. Ask about people's satisfaction or dissatisfaction with conditions & results, so you can improve your offers.

Differentiate your store from discounters by emphasizing how product quality & your advice affect satisfaction.

You can attract a bigger niche by increasing value with these full benefit ranges & options for various conditions.

By streamlining projects & making techniques easier, you can help customers manage projects & make experiences less stressful & more beneficial.

You can increase benefits & decrease stress by helping people set budgets & choose products based on their goals & finances. Encourage customers to trade up & down to get the qualities they want.

Producing Experiences

Broadest possible benefits can include enhancing experiences beyond what customers thought is possible or affordable.

Offer experiences in your promotions. In your store, guide customers through processes of creating & expanding experiences. Describe how you help people experience benefits. Example: ‘Tell us what you want to experience from your (product or situation). Whether you want task supplies or full project kits, we'll help you choose the right products & methods to produce satisfying results.'

By asking about customers' conditions, your specific offers can beat competitors' typical product & price list ads. Example: ‘Describe what you have & what you want. We'll recommend high quality products & guide you in creating great experiences.'

As you serve customers, you can collect testimonials comparing your offers with competitors.

Up to a point, people willingly sacrifice some benefits when they buy from discounters. When they've sacrificed to the point of dissatisfaction, they want better options.

Offer customized options discount stores don't have, so people can precisely solve or prevent problems. Example: ‘You can end discount store disappointments by investing in the top quality advice & products to get results you need. Since we're in your community, we understand your needs. We customize products for local conditions.'

Some people buy low-priced, low status products because high status versions don't have any advantages for them. Example: Consumers, who want basic transportation, aren't impressed by luxury cars. They reserve money for what's personally important to them.

Michael J. Silverstein & Neil Fiske wrote about it in "Trading Up: Why Consumers Want New Luxury Goods... And How Companies Create Them". They explained how some consumers pay premium prices when products are too important to scrimp on because of strong emotional engagement.

Learn the emotional appeal of important product attributes. Emphasize how you help people get high quality benefits from those attributes. When people trade-up to buy high quality from you, offer what they need to optimize the quality. Quality can be optimized with supplementary products & services sold separately or in kits.

Show how to optimize experiences by combining effects of products & services. When you show concern about experiences, you show concern about people. You can help people create experiences based on their budgets by trading-up & trading-down.

Consider what consumers want when they trade-up from other stores. If consumers aren't fully satisfied with trade-up products, what would improve their experiences? Develop ways to preserve current benefits, plus optimize results & experiences to fulfill related desires.

You can review products & services with customers, explain benefits & ask which benefits would improve experiences. Would improved experiences be longer, more frequent & maybe exciting or mellow?

Explain how to use the full potential of products & services. When it's necessary, determine what you can add &/or adjust to produce more potential. It'll give you a competitive edge.

Trade-Ins Can Be Another Income Stream

People can start trading up with second-hand products. You can accept second-hand products as trade-ins.

You can get a basic idea of trade-in value from sales made through auction web sites. Check RetailWire, Retail TouchPoints & trade groups for ideas & guidelines.

Some online businesses are in the resale market. You can check their web sites for the viability of some product lines.

When you accept trade-ins, you'll help people buy new goods.

When there's a resale or trade-in value, people might be more comfortable with purchasing luxuries.

Until people can afford the newest, top-level models, they can enjoy core brand benefits of older models.

By accepting the brands you sell as trade-ins, you'll imply those brands have lasting value. It can be an incentive to buy from you instead of discount store versions. Explain benefits of upgrades, so people appreciate products & set purchase goals.

You can build your clientele year by year as people trade-up & upgrade.

You can profit at each step as people incrementally upgrade by trading in to get more advanced or upscale models.

In addition to benefits of new models, emphasize the value of core brand benefits to attract buyers of older models.

There can be viable markets for new or used products that fulfill the Ladder of Benefits in "Trading Up: Why Consumers Want New Luxury Goods... And How Companies Create Them".

Here's a summary of the Ladder of Benefits: 1- Products must have differences in design, technology, or both. 2- Technical differences must provide superior performance. 3- Technical & functional benefits must inspire emotional engagement.

This is a noted fact: People tend to buy based on emotion despite how much they might focus on logical criteria.

Use emotional appeals to persuade people to buy with logical justifications. Example: People might want a Jacuzzi for emotional reasons. They can justify it logically by focusing on how a Jacuzzi can ease back problems & relax people enough to help them sleep. Emotionally, it's a luxury. Logically, it's an investment in good health.

Suggest getting advice: ‘Ask your chiropractor how much better your treatments will be when your muscles stay relaxed at home.'

Build emotional engagement by connecting luxury & logic. Massagers can ease back problems, but a Jacuzzi has some style. Massagers are limited to muscles. A Jacuzzi creates an experience & massages bodies better than massagers.

If manufacturers haven't added enough functional, beneficial style, ask customers what you can add. Would it be better with aromatherapy & therapeutic ointments?

I'm emphasizing functional & beneficial because a massager could have a beautiful set of controls. Each switch could have a function but be hard to use. Hard-to-use switches aren't beneficial.

When you order inventory, consider who will use products & in which conditions.

When you explain how functions produce benefits, use emotional appeal, so consumers understand how functions will help. Example: ‘As you adjust heat & vibrations, you'll enjoy more relaxation & comfort. You'll easily learn how to reset the controls & reset how you feel.'

Functional & Distinctive Advantages

Some people buy products to be distinctive as individuals or group members. People's distinctiveness can depend on knowing how to use a product's functional advantages to create & maintain results. Your store can be a major part of it.

In your ads, describe functional advantages & offer lessons for creating advantages in customers' conditions. Providing lessons requires you to learn about customers' conditions, which will help you improve your business (you can make better offers). Improving your business helps you improve customers' lives.

Retail success is easier with influence & influence is easier with knowledge. Knowledge leads to better quality.

Improving quality shows your concern for people. Associate your store with high quality & concern for people.
You can show you care by learning how to help people.

Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.

Copyright 2019 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/