How To Sell AProduct To A Customer Effectively?
The Sales Plan is
an integral part of the marketing plan and it includes strategies and
tactics used to achieve revenue objectives. Effective sales can be achieved
through effective advertising. Advertising too plays an important role
in achieving sales. The channels of sales should be analyzed before implementing.
In this competitive environment today researchers have identified many
a basic elements and strategies that can be applied to get effective sales
results. However these recommendations have to be dynamic in nature and
have to change from time to time as the customers tastes, preferences,
lifestyle etc..keep changing from time to time.
Customers these days have become shrewder and they dont care if
the companies dont care for them. Its the benefits that the
customers buy and nor the features. As the old saying goes, sell the sizzle
and not the steak. Features in a product have a purpose. There cannot
be any feature designed without serving a particular purpose.
However its always wrong to assume that the customer will figure
out for himself as to what that benefit is. For example : Its not
appropriate to write about what a Macintosh operating system has to offer,
how different it is from Windows, without connecting the fact that such
an operating system is pretty costlier than windows and it works in a
different way when compared to windows and then talk about what it will
do for them.
When you advertise your product, it is always advisable to view what your
offering from a customers point of view. When you read what you write,
put your copy to the test by you yourself being the biggest critic of
your product.
Why be your own critic? Your customers and competitors will definitely
be a critic of your product. If you have customers acknowledging your
product, you will also have a section of people being your biggest critic.
So before them assuming the role of one, its always better in you
being your own critic.
By thinking from a customers point of view, it will help you answer
a lot of questions and will help in offering a better and a more competitive
product. Just take a second off and think about it, wont you are a critic
of your own competitors product? Thats how we innovate too.
So its always better in us realizing what more could be offered
rather than getting to know from your competitors or customers.
While designing your own product, first plan your products features and
benefits. Plan in a way that what youre offering is unique or what
service youre rendering is unique. What is that you are offering
that your competitors cannot? Such questions may not necessarily always
elicit easy answers, but nevertheless, you must find and articulate, well
and convincing answers to them.
Ask questions like whether youre offering the lowest price or the
most competitive price, whether you can offer a faster delivery of your
service, whether the guarantee that you give is an appreciable and an
acceptable one and of course whether your product is quite unique when
compared to the others.
Unique Selling Proposition
There must be a unique and a compelling reason for a new customer or an
existing customer to do or continue business with your organization or
to use your product or continue using your products. A reason that stands
out amidst your competitors products in todays competitive environment.
This concept is most frequently referred to as your unique selling proposition
(USP).
What compels me to do business with you, what is that I can get from your
product that I cannot get from your competitors product, what are the
real benefits that I can get from your product when I can choose from
a basketful of your competitors? This is a question that a customer keeps
asking always.
Once you truly grasp this fact of marketing, it becomes easy to see that
finding the right USP and articulating it in your sales copy can literally
spell the difference between success and failure. It truly is that important.
Attach more importance to your layout. Position your headlines in such
a way that they will be seen first and arrange your presentation in an
orderly fashion. It is a known fact that presentations, to be effective
have to be arranged somewhat like a tour. There's a beginning, middle
and an end - in that order. Make sure that your customer is not in complete
control of the order in which they participate in the tour.
Use graphical images if possible to invoke emotion wherever necessary.
Make sure that you capture your customers eyes to the text that
you want them to read. Avoid using graphical images to gratuitously fill
spaces. Always ask yourself what you want the graphic to accomplish and
design it in such a way that it accomplishes the set task.
Give the consumers an attractive focal point a convenient and an
obvious place to start reading as well as a well laid-out pathway to follow
all the way to the set conclusion. Tell your customers up front what you're
selling or offering. If you let them to guess, your product will ultimately
go un-noticed and you will be left guessing why they left without buying
your product.
Make sure that your promotions and advertisements demonstrate the product
and illustrate a benefit. See to that its designed in such a way
that it promotes a professional image. Be sure that it draws the required
attention to the most important sections of the promos or advertisements.
All of these are important issues to be focused on and also make sure
that you validate the use of graphical images.
Images are very powerful mediums of delivery, but space upon a hoarding
or a banner is precious and it should not to be frivolously squandered.
Its always important that you strive to get the maximum possible
returns from each of your images or captions. Use them to induce positive
emotions. For example: A picture of a happy and well-knit family getting
into a brand new sedan is more appealing than just a picture of the sedan.
If, on the other hand, images or graphics lacks the set purpose, then
lose dont mind losing them, as there is no use in doing something
which is not going to pay the desired results. Finally make sure that
your promotional campaign and advertisements carry a purpose of promoting
a professional image. Remember, customers generally dont care about
your image than you do. Its hard to believe, but thats the
fact. Always maintain professionalism which is good.
Customers always care
more about themselves than they do about you. Products that your company
promotes should always stay benefit oriented and focus on your unique
selling proposition (USP) those two factors alone will generate sales
far better than a professional looking image-enhancing corporate logo
and a whacky caption. Business today is going global, every company is
looking to expand its products and services throughout the globe.
To sell your product efficiently, its not only enough that you have
a competitive product on hand, but you also have to take into consideration
the local culture, values and practices. For example Nokia, which is a
Finnish company, saw a potential market in India. In order to capitalize
on its Indian Market it conducted a detailed study of the Indian Market
and what the customers wants are.
Accordingly it manufactured its product and today its the most sought after cell phone brand. Therefore all the factors must be taken into consideration to sell a product effectively. Its not only about effective selling; its all about smart thinking too.