Persuading people to buy your products takes more than just flattery and appealing ads. Releasing a highly unique and original product isn’t the key either; why would people buy something they haven’t heard about before?
Besides, there are already tons of the same product in the market that coming up with something 100% original is next to impossible. And people aren’t looking for it anyway. You can sell notebooks with nothing special in it, and people will buy them simply because they need notebooks.
That’s the whole point of marketing — to pitch a product to a group that needs it. If you keep on making breakthrough products but haven’t met success so far, you’re probably just selling to the wrong group. But what if you’ve already gotten your demographics right, and you still struggle to make a sale?
To solve that problem, focus on your lead generation tactics. A lead, or sales lead, is an individual or a business who will potentially be a customer. It also refers to the data that identifies an entity to be a potential consumer of a product or service.
Several factors determine the quality of sales leads. If your brand and products are guilty of the following, consider those the reasons you fail at generating leads:
1. You Don’t Increase Your Audience’s Brand Awareness
Consumers won’t buy a product from an unknown brand. If you are marketing, but your audience is still unaware of your brand, that’s a sign that your strategies aren’t working. Gather your team and analyze if you are targeting the right market with your message. If your message isn’t reaching the group who needs to hear that message, change your strategies. In many cases, brands don’t need to do more marketing but just tweak their current strategies.
Simply put, find where the problem lies, and focus on correcting it.
2. You Don’t Clarify the Benefits of Your Product
Many businesses think that price is the leading factor that encourages a consumer to buy. But in reality, they just consider price along with other factors, such as the benefits of a product. If you advertise a product without showing how it solves problems, then consumers won’t get the point in it. Even if the benefits are pretty obvious (e.g. you sell phone cases), you still have to demonstrate them. Identify the top three benefits of your product, and center your ads around them next time.
3. You Fail to Show the Value of Your Product
One reason consumers buy a product is value. They buy from brands that share their values; for example, vegan consumers trust vegan brands because they’re cruelty-free and ethically sourced. Even if vegan goods are usually more expensive, they still gain customers because the value of their products is shown.
You don’t need an emotional backstory to create value for your products. Perceived value counts, too. If there’s really no real value in your products, their benefits can at least create perceived value. For example, tobacco products hardly have any value, as it’s dangerous for the health and the so-called benefits are mostly placebo. Still, people buy them, because they’re smokers. If you market your products in a way that makes consumers perceive a certain value in them, you can finally generate quality leads.
4. Your Online Store isn’t User-friendly
If you sell mainly online, the look and quality of your website matter highly. Users aren’t patient enough to navigate a confusing website. They need to see clear category placements and professional-quality photos. They also need a wide range of payment methods, from bank transfer to cash on delivery.
Creating a user-friendly, mobile-friendly, and attractive website is essential to providing a positive customer experience. Many businesses forget that products and stores are an experience that consumers enjoy. If you walk into a store selling your favorite items, don’t you find yourself having a great time, even without buying anything? If your business can’t draw that same joy from consumers, that explains why they don’t buy anything from you.
Therefore, make your store welcoming and organized, be that a website or a brick-and-mortar. Provide easy navigation as well as other content and features that’ll encourage consumers to stay.
5. You Don’t Make Your Products Accessible
Sometimes, you’d almost win a consumer’s purchase, only for them to back out at the last minute because of accessibility issues. If you’re running an online store, ensure that your shipping options cover all the areas you market to. Don’t target an audience from Florida if you can’t ship beyond Washington D.C., for example.
Correct these mistakes, and you can expect successful leads and more completed transactions. Once you’ve found the right strategy, stay consistent. Don’t get too excited to launch more marketing strategies when the existing ones are already working fine.