How to stay durable in the consumer goods space (1)

This is paramount to your success. You have something great, so why not boast about it! In the times of old, where competition in some sectors was less rife and budgets were abundant, it was near enough a given that you could more easily encourage consumers to be brand loyal.

As we’ve been emphasising across various articles, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to catch and keep buyer attention. Today’s user is much more clued up on what you’re looking for, and have the convenience of comparison at their fingertips.

So, before going full force ahead, take a moment to think about how your product resolves the everyday problems faced by consumers. We know it’s tempting at times to get technical and showboat the many features of a new product introduction. However, we advise you find smart and intelligent ways of linking these products to the benefits they deliver.

An example – why not promote a recipe whilst showing a product tie-in that helps simplify the process. If you take this route:

• be certain to show powerful powerful imagery of your product within the space dedicated to presenting a solution
• consider the use of videos to help sell the idea
• don’t shy away from revealing presets and settings that help end users arrive at the finished result

Engage with both your existing and potential audiences. At the end of the day, their views and opinions shape not only the way your products are promoted, but also future ideas and product improvements.

It may be positive or negative feedback, but whatever is said can be an invaluable source for continuous improvement. We encourage product manufacturers to engage in general discussions and social conversations which can help form the basis of FAQ’s, product demo’s, videos and other engaging, informative content strategies.

Take every opportunity to direct visitors to where they’re able to make a purchase of your product. Whether it’s via your own e-commerce pages or via a link to the page of your authorised retailers, make the buying process as easy as possible for your customers.

How complex you get with your where-to-buy solution is up to you. If you have a small number of channel partners, then a page with links to them might suffice.

We’ve developed more complex solutions which utilise the best of the 2016 web. With Geo-IP tracking available on devices, you can intelligently suggest the most appropriate retailer closest to a visitors location – see in this in effect over at steelbook.com.

With a savvy product management setup, you’ll also be able to promote specific retailers who have offers available for a given period – gUI xPress Ads serves as the perfect conduit for this.

Now here’s a Debunc special, we’ve titled the ‘Triple P’ effect. So much for thought leadership.

We just love when you’re able to visit the page of either a product manufacturer or retailer, and notice that they’ve taken into consideration your spending habits, alongside the season in question, and in response provided a promotional offer.

For us, it needs to be prominent within the page being viewed and give clear instructions as to how to redeem the offer.

In being called-to-action, you’d hope to see some of the following:

• a clear cut view of what’s on offer
• a legible font + powerful imagery
• a clickable button (which guides my purchasing decision)
• some urgency in the need to make a purchase (such as an expiry date)
• sharing options

In the same vein, it would be wrong not to mention the provision of ‘coupon codes’, ‘first time buyer discounts’ and ‘special group offers’ for specific users and demographics.

Be bold in showing consumers the nifty tricks and workarounds that your product can offer. Note that amongst your end users will be both product and lifestyle enthusiasts.

With technological products, look into providing advice, hacks and workarounds. Also listen to your community for creative ways that users interact with your products and brand.

Should it be a health and lifestyle product you’re providing, take the responsibility of tying-in with fitness advice which may touch on the function of your products. For example, you could speak about juicing a few days a week, without directly promoting your product.

These are but a few ideas. So, take a moment to think of your users and how best you tap into their subcultures.