Inspire the Buyer – turning the recession into an opportunity

The recession has hit retailers and manufacturers hard – and particularly those in luxury goods and services. Consumers and businesses alike are more focussed on value for money than ever – but not all products and services lend themselves to the ‘easy’ route of discounts and price-cutting seen across the High Street.

And yet some businesses – whilst still suffering – are bucking the trend by maintaining or even increasing their market share – why?

The ‘trick’ these and other companies have learnt is to inspire their customers.

Whether it’s Apple selling slick consumer products like the iPhone and iPod at a premium, Iceland Frozen Food stores offering customers the lowest possible prices – or like the rest of us, somewhere in-between – we all need to ‘inspire the buyer’.

But how do we do that during a recession where prices have already been slashed, and there simply isn’t the money available to develop new products or services?

The simple answer is by building on what you already have in place – the products and services you offer now.

Most companies concentrate on developing and polishing their offering, but then fail to actually tell their customers about it! Because we are so steeped in a detailed understanding of our products and services, we fail to realise that our customers are only aware of the tip of our carefully created iceberg.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Are your customers aware of the full range of products or services you offer?
If you hear the words “Oh! I didn’t realise you did that…” it should ring warning bells! Even customers who have bought a product from you already almost certainly won’t know all the other things you do – unless you tell them and (importantly) KEEP telling them.

2. Are your customers aware of all of the features you’ve built in to your product or service?
If you’re over 30 – how many features are there on your mobile phone that you either didn’t know were there or don’t know how to use? Never assume that people read the instructions – they usually don’t!

But most important of all:

3. Are your customers aware of the BENEFITS those features deliver – ie what your products or services can do for them?
Even companies that do all this can still fall into the trap of telling customers everything their products or services do – but not telling them what it does FOR THEM.

The other day, I picked up a computer magazine and read a couple of the articles. These were on subjects that I was genuinely interested in – and importantly that I genuinely had a need for. The articles told me everything that each of the products does, and offered endless statistics on how they perform against each other – but completely failed to tell me how those products could help me.

Contrast this with the advertising on web, TV and in the press for the iPod.

One of the reasons designers love Apple is that they have always concentrated on simplifying their products and making them intuitive and easy to understand. In a world where computers have massive power and can do almost everything, they have concentrated on little products like the iPod that do only one or two things – but do them very well.

But most importantly Apple then tell people about these products and show us what they do – but in such a stylish way that we are willing –and even happy – to pay the premium. Look closely at the website and adverts and the technical statistics are still there for those who want them, but only after you’ve been hit by the products useability, innovative design and simple features.

Now look at your product or service. OK, your offering might not be as exciting or as pretty as an iPod – but it still does something for your customers that they want and that they need. The fact that it isn’t as instantly desirable just makes it even more important to identify the benefits you can deliver for your customers – and to make sure that you tell them in a way that they can understand – and feel.

And if you’re tempted to dismiss all this as just another designer waxing lyrical about the Apple – just remember the hard business fact that the iPod has over 70% of the huge MP3 player market, and has turned Apple into one of the biggest players in the music industry.

It all comes down to one word – inspiration. To survive the downturn and take advantage of the upturn when it comes, we all have to inspire our buyers – and make our ‘products’ something they WANT to own.

Hullabaloo can help
If you want help to inspire your buyers, download our free inspiration checklist here or contact me on 01509 224466 for a free consultation.