eBusiness Weekly
We have witnessed very interesting developments in our economy in recent weeks. This is especially with regards to consumers’ power of choice. We went from a scenario where consumers were seemingly spoilt for choice when making their purchases, to one where they were limited to only a specific brand or service, and we seem to find ourselves back at the former instance — where the customer starts making buying decisions with their own wallet.Sales channels will always exist. Consumer buying habits and preferences are rapidly evolving. As a business, it is important to make sure you are extensively growing your market share and maintaining relevance. Your growth will either be organic or disruptive.
In this article, we focus on the new sales channel trends which will position your business in any hyper-inflationary economy and continue to position you as a relevant market leader, and on key strategies that the brand, brand owners, sales leader, and the organisation will drive.
Out-Of-Home is interestingly becoming the next big thing when it comes to growing your sales channel. Europe and Asian markets attribute at least 40 percent of all sales generated to this channel. What it simply entails is having business tie-ups with other existing business brands to push your product or commodity. Suppose one day you are in a service station kiosk to get a cold beverage after getting your fuel.
To your surprise you realise certain brands are only available in certain kiosk stores, the same situation you encountered when you did an oil top up. It is clearly by design and not a random occurrence.
It is not every customer who knows what to buy and where to buy it from.
However, suggestions which are triggered through business synergies will push for a direct brand interface with a client making the purchase a thought out process.
Through such tie-ups in multiplex complexes, especially in the fast food industry, you will ensure a captive consumer base for your company and without a doubt will lead in the competitive landscape.
Now while it is pertinent to understand the relevance of the channel to any industry, the industry strategies to ride on for this success include those discussed below.
Avoid the Ostrich
theory of marketing
Simply placing a product or branding it without the right levels of engagement will limit your scope.
The Ostrich theory comes into play when you become deluded into believing that your customer is only interested in your company and product.
And that he is not being bombarded, induced, and seduced by all sorts of other services and products available. Never take a customer relationship for granted. You cannot take an order you booked today — or an assumption of an order that you are going to fulfil in weeks, months, or a year from now for granted. You have to keep continuously advancing and solidifying your relationship with that customer or else you will lose out. And in a big way.
Conversely, if you continuously stoke the embers of desire and value perceptions that your customers have about whatever it is you have to sell to them, or are about to receive sometime in the future, you will sustain, enhance, and preserve a lot of money for yourself for a long time.
That is definitely not all. Another strategy to equip and support your out-of-home business model is to make sure that you do not put all your eggs in one basket! Diversify your resources during your business growth time-line. Products and services work in teams and complement each other. You need to make sure that you are aligned. Do not put all your resources into one investment or brand offering.
Spread your offering. As much as your business may need your extra resources, keep some in other lines. I wonder how the car world would have been if all the big brands decided to make one model of vehicle which would have been expected to cater to all customers despite the nature or disparities in their needs.
As a business leader, never second guess your thoughts. When contemplating a joint venture, reaching all customers will require meeting and aligning with bigger brands all for the purposes of market share growth.
Make it a point to look for a winning niche for your new product outlet. It should appeal to a market that cares about innovation and will pay for it. The fact that we live in a global environment makes it mandatory to master the ability to compete today and survive tomorrow.
This has made products like smart televisions change over the past few years while fuelling job creations because of innovation. The connections for your business as an underlining thread will continue to grow too. Not long ago a local battery manufacturing company came out with the solar car battery which lasts longer and is environmentally friendly. This new battery has a tester on it to examine its effectiveness and freshness as extra features.
Do not deceive yourself about the value of what you have. Ask yourself this, and answer honestly, no matter how brutal the response may be: Is there a demand for your product or service, or are your sales teams playing jam squash (nothing)? Do not lose sight of practical considerations and objectivity. Select well, select safely and select your business very, very carefully.
As we round it up, it is important to reiterate that as a business owner, make sure you list and mine all possible hidden assets — the business DNA, the business growth angles. Know your distribution networks, potential channels for marketing additional products or services as they are the formula that has always been working. Don’t change it.
The views given herein are solely for information purposes; they are guidelines and suggestions and are not guaranteed to work in any particular way.
Robert Gonye is a Business Growth Expert and Influencer. He writes in his personal capacity. Comments and views: [email protected]. Twitter @robert_gonye.
