Every business wants more sales, increased market share, mind space, and most importantly more profit. Who does not want a bigger slice of the cake?
But in today's market, there are millions of products in every category. There are small brands, big brands, international brands and so much more. Some brands believe in investing in the long run. They invest a lot of money in brand building. Whereas others directly jump into sales. They do not advertise much for building awareness and interest in consumers. They directly strive for sales.
For example, in the fashion industry when you go shopping on apps such as Myntra or Amazon there are items from brands such as h&m, Zara, Global Desi, and Fab India. You will recognize these brands instantly because of the brand-building these companies have done throughout the years. On the other hand, there are many products by brands whose names you have never heard such as Tokyo Talkies, Sassafras, Anouk, Berrylush, etc. but still, these brands are present on major eCommerce platforms. This is because they do not care about brand building. They just want sales.
Hence, they try to increase product visibility so that consumers buy it. Mostly Fast-Moving Consumer Goods brands go for sales rather than brand building. Companies dealing in white goods or any expensive goods always go for brand building because people never invest huge amounts of money on brands they do not know and trust.
Are you a small business that is trying to increase sales? Let me tell you how you can do it by-
1. Building brand awareness and value
2. Pumping sales up by investing only in the distribution channel.
Investing in Value
People prefer one product over the other not only for the price but for the value it provides. Value for money is a big factor in consumer decision-making.
For example – if you wanted to buy a bar of chocolate and a shopkeeper shows you 2 options-
- Cheapest chocolate that has a bad aftertaste, is not very smooth, and ingredients sourced unethically.
- A bar of chocolate that is higher in price but has a great taste, made with healthy ingredients and the brand has a redressal mechanism. If you are not satisfied you can complain.
Which one are you going to choose?
I believe the latter. It is because of the value that brands and products provide. In the same way, you need to advertise the value your product adds to the consumer's life.
Many companies do not showcase value. They advertise the features. They provide heavy discounts to increase sales. But heavy discounting will lead to losses in the future. The cost of production will become more than sales. Therefore, many big companies have big figures in sales but remain in debt and losses.
As rightly said
'High sales do not mean high profits'
If you feel your product is of high quality and has value and the price justifies it then do not give heavy discounts. Give small discounts or points on every purchase. You can also give small samplers for free with the purchase rather than discounts.
At times if high-quality products are available at a cheap rate people believe they are counterfeit or that they are not of high quality. Do not reduce your price to appeal mass market. Identify your target audience and stay true to them.
Social value
Owning many products adds a lot of social status, joy, and satisfaction to people. Play on these emotions and showcase how your product is the solution.
Nowadays every brand provides similar features in their products. Still, customers prefer one over the above. For example, the mobile market is saturated with mobiles having more or less the same features in each price segment. Still, people have brand preferences. It all boils down to VALUE.
Pumping sales
The other way around is to focus on distribution and not brand building. Showcase your product everywhere so that consumers see it and buy it.
Here you can focus your money on the distribution challenge. In many sectors especially FMCG people are not brand conscious. You can build a brand solely because it's available everywhere and is easily accessible.
For example, if you deal in biscuits and you make your biscuits available in most of the kinara stores, supermarkets, and shops many consumers might see your product and try it out. Without advertising the consumer starts purchasing your product.
Once they like it, they will keep purchasing it.
Which method are you going to follow for your small business? Let me know in the comments below.
Read here more on branding and brand building.
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Shimbi Growth Labs
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