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Selling your product or service

Guest post by: Rene Truter

Article Overview: With new businesses opening all the time and consumers getting more and more demanding, it's inevitable that you will have to compete with similar ventures for business. So how do you get and maintain that competitive edge?

Selling your product or service

Before you start looking for ways to stand out in the crowd, analyse your competition and what they are doing. This will give you an idea of where you need to make adjustments. Here are a few strategies to help you stay on top of your game.

Setting the right price

Pricing your goods and services is a constant balancing act, with trying not to price yourself out of the market or going so low that you can't make a worthwhile profit.

• Competitive pricing works best if you are mass-producing products that are sold in volume. For example, you can use bulk orders to negotiate discounts from suppliers and other service providers
• Generate enough volume to justify your price cut
• Low prices will not work if your customers don't know about them, so runmarketing drives
• Reverse the usual pricing principles by first establishing what the price has to be, then see where you canlower production costs, bargain with suppliers, cut waste, etc

While you want to be competitive on your pricing, don't be tempted to compromise on the quality of your product. Cheap and nasty does not create loyal customers.

Good quality always wins

Some customers are willing to pay more for value, so find out what they value. Is it performance, exclusivity, latest trends or personal service?

• The level of quality must justify the higher price and live up to expectations
• If you're moving existing products up-market, do it in stages
• How do customers know that your product is superior? Find an industry expert, celebrity or satisfied customers to endorse your claim
• Punt the product. Customers care about how you will improve their lives, save them time/money or impress their neighbours. They don't care about thicker steel or 24-hour call centres
• Pay attention to detail such as labels, packaging, how your shop and even how your staff are presented

Competing in niche markets

Niches work well for small businesses because they are generally too small or too specialised to attract large competitors. The key, then, is to know your niche better than anyone else.

• Small is fine, but it's got to be big enough to support you
• Research your target market. How many customers are there? How much do they spend? What is unique about them?
• Become a niche expert: Follow every trend; lifestyle, economic factors, growth, new technology, etc. What could wipe out this niche?
• Keep tabs on your competition: How do they differ from you? Are their promotional tactics different?
• Re-evaluate often: Niches can be volatile, so check your marketing approach periodically, such as advertising strategy, promotional methods and pricing

Saving the customer time

• Speed is an issue in product almost every industry. Consumers want immediate action
• Use just-in-time systems: Avoid warehousing and make a product or initiate service only after the order comes in, then move fast to fulfil it
• Cut out the middlemen: Try to distribute directly to the end user
• Test the market: Develop several prototypes in limited quantity and sell in competition. Manufacture the most successful one in large quantities. This gets product onto shelves quicker

These are just a few of the ways toset yourself apart from your competitors and create a loyal customer base. If you put your mind to it and adjust thetips above to suit your industry, you'll soon start to gain the upper hand.

Copyright© 2010 Business Partners Ltd. All rights reserved.

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Article Tags: competition, competitive, competitive edge, consumers, edge, new businesses



Related Forum Posts
Re: Service Or Product? - Very insightful, and I totally aggree, service first... it is a substantial foundation for any business. Products and service go hand in hand to make a business really successful. Nevertheless quality control for both is also actually a must; you will never offer services that are not par with the standards neither with products. Focusing on the product aspect, in stores or in deliveries or in any other way you get to sell your products there is a pinch of service involved. Even after a product is sold "customer service hotlines" is another form of service buyers somehow expect from you. So IMHO service or product are like chicken and eggs... lol,,,
Determine Your Target - Ramon - Congratulations on your new venture. First priority is to make a list of the people and businesses who are your target market. Who needs your product or service? Make a list of the things you can offer them. They need to understand the value of your service. Once you have a clear idea of who needs your product and what you have to offer, then you can begin to promote effectively to the right people. Promoting to people who have no use for your product or service or who don't have the authority to make a decision - is a waste of your time and money. One last thing - when you determine your target market - narrow down the options. For example - if you sold a product that could be used for computers, its not good enough to say your target is any computer owner. Would it be best for residential or commercial use? Is it better for teens or adults? Is it better for beginners or more experienced computer owners? Do small businesses or large businesses need your product? The more precise your answers are, the more successful your efforts will be. Shri
Re: Service Or Product? - Hi Evan, A late response to your question but I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents worth as it's still a great topic. I like services personally as a business model but products would work as well. It all depends on the demand for the product. I learned a long time ago that if the demand out weighs the supply, whether it be a service or a product, the potential for success is far greater. When consumers or businesses are looking for what you're selling, the sale is that much easier and the risk is that much lower. Think about businesses that never have to advertise and just have websites and yellow page listings to be found. There is normally such a demand for their product or service that there's no need to advertise to find business as their customers will find them. These businesses do exist and if you think long and hard about it, you'll come up with a few that dispite the economy, spend next to nothing on advertising. So, product or service... who cares... demand and finding a niche is what matters and either or could be very successfull.
Re: Advice needed to earn money online!!!! - Hi, I agree with all the above comments. What ever happened to good old fashion selling a good product or service? It seems like a few illegitimate companies "dangled some flashy keys" in front of entrepreneurs eyes and everyone took that bait. My advice would be like the rest; find out what you like doing in life and figure out a way to sell a service or a product that relates to the industry. Jeff
Re: Urban market promotion - [quote="myownboss":38izvbws]This could be interesting - how can we learn more about your service?[/quote:38izvbws] Depending on what your particular product or service is, there are a number of possible vehicles. At this time, I'm working on an Urban Music related tour across Canada, which would be an interesting opportunity for an entrepreneur, company or business group to align their product or service with this concept. Fire me off an email to discuss this in more detail: info@soundsupremacy.com. Cheers.


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