Brands can use guided selling to one-up their competition.
Life is tough in a crowded, competitive market, with multiple brands doing the same thing in the same space. Businesses try to outplay their competitors by striving to be the best – with better features, service, or price.
But what difference will a slightly better offer make in winning the customers’ loyalty? Very little. You’re still just another frog in a big pond. And how long will it take competitors to match your hard-won advantage? Not long. Just look at the automobile industry. They crowd each other and fight each other, but business does not seem to be getting much better for most of them.
It’s time to re-draw the competitive map. Instead of trying to be better than your competition, just be different. Being different or unique will get you noticed: rather than playing your competitors’ game, you’ll be foremost in customers’ hearts and minds if you give them something unique that they need.
Toyota did this in the 90’s when they launched the Previa: Instead of needing to make do with a souped-up delivery van, families could buy a good-looking car-like vehicle, designed for the specific needs of family life.
This doesn’t mean you have to invest time and money to develop a whole new product. Your aim is simply to add value for your (and your retailer’s) customers.
Perhaps all you need is to roll out online guided selling. Guided selling tools are hot right now. They make it so much easier to choose a product – and therefore, to promote and sell products. This year, Google started using them to help sell phones and music.
Shop Assistant is an online guided selling system for your (and your retailers’) website. It shows customers which of your products will best suit their needs. It’s incredibly helpful for customers trying to negotiate a crowded technological landscape, when they just want to make a clear choice in a succinct timeframe. As customers engage with the selection process, they can clearly see how your product can add value to their lives.
Unique things never stay that way for long. Just look how crowded the people-mover market got!
Leapfrog while you can. Read the Whitepaper, or call us.
Photo by Adam Fagen.