Customers don’t want your product
Unless it increases their social worth.
Do sales bounce?
Well, I am sure you have heard the term bounce rate of an e-commerce website. It indicates customer visits but not sales. In the case of physical stores, customers walk into the store but don’t buy. It means no conversion.
For the sake of clarity, sales, and conversion, both mean the same thing. Buy.
Before sale, the goods are in a warehouse or displayed in a store. Upon transaction, they are either transported to the customer’s destination or handed over.
The whole logistics of it, storing and transporting, involves time, labor, and money.
Online sales are like a precommitment. Satisfied customers make transactions. After which, the goods are sent. And Sales are achieved.
But in the case of physical sales, it is tougher. First, the customer has to come to the store. That involves time, effort, and money for the seller as well as the customer. Post that, if all the conditions are satisfactory, the customer purchases the product.
But what drives satisfaction?
I have 15 years of experience in business and marketing. I learned that to induce sales products and services must be physically and mentally available.
Physical availability of products means being present when the customer needs or desires to buy.
Mental availability of products means being on top of the mind of the consumer when they express intent to buy.
Think of this.
You need to fly to a destination at a particular time. Your preferred airline doesn’t have any flights scheduled at that hour. What are you going to do? Book an alternate flight. Your preferred airlines lost the sale. They were not physically present when you needed them.
From the many alternate flight opinions, you booked the one whose advertisement you saw and remembered.
In a nutshell, you remembered the flight’s name and it was available at your preferred time. So you took it.
Think deeper. You will see the following:
- Making products and services physically available is tough. It involves supply chain, manufacturing, inventory management, and production planning.
- Making products and services mentally available is expensive. It involves brand building, brand marketing, advertisement, communication, and customer relationship management.
Now, making a brand physically and mentally available seems like the entire list of business activities.
And if done right, it should lead to sales.
But, it is easier said than done. It requires resources, time, and cash. Both are scarce for small and medium businesses. And it is almost zero when bootstrapping.
So what’s the solution?
Build the image of the product instead. That’s the first step to building a brand.
Five years back, I set out to build a social enterprise called Rise Legs. We leveraged technology to make quality assistive devices and disability services more accessible.
Before that, there were devices at two ends of the spectrum.
Expensive quality products. Free or cheap products that were substandard for use.
Also, good quality limb disability services were not available in the smaller towns. The disabled and their caregivers had to travel to the bigger cities to avail of services.
Lack of device choice and travel discouraged disabled individuals from using assistive devices. Only a small percentage of them who lived in the city and could afford expensive devices took up devices.
So we trained local paramedical professionals and prosthetists across tiers 2 & 3 cities. It strengthened the local healthcare system and created jobs. We fabricated the devices in one center and shipped them to the patients.
That reduced the economic and physical burden on disabled individuals.
The products were as good as the expensive devices but at ⅓ their cost. They had parts made of natural substances which reduced manufacturing costs. It also made them lighter in weight. Also, the devices had fewer parts. Which made them mechanically superior.
That should have increased the device sales! It should have also made the product a preferred choice.
But the sales didn’t go up as per expectations. Why?
Further probing revealed people weren’t comfortable using artificial devices in public. Especially the women. The artificial look of the devices brought attention to their limbs. That happened when they were in a seated position at work or while traveling in public transport.
To address the issue, Rise Legs modified its design process. All devices were designed to match the shape and natural skin color of the functional limb.
That made the devices more socially acceptable. Which in turn increased device uptake as per expectations.
Even while bootstrapping Rise Legs ensured the following
- High-quality devices, available when required.
- They were affordable
- Early adopters felt safe using the devices. They felt happy about being mobile once again.
- The natural look and feel of the device made them feel less self-conscious.
Self-worth happens when customers feel proud of using your product. They can justify to themselves their buy.
So, even if you are bootstrapping a business, ask the following questions.
1) How can I ensure the physical presence of my product when customers need it? Rise Legs ensured the local presence of products. Disabled individuals didn’t have to travel to the city to buy them.
2) Is the product affordable for the customer? Please remember that affordability does not mean reduced prices. It means making it economically accessible. Rise Legs devices were affordable to most. To make the price more inclusive, Rise Legs offered Care Package. It included free device service and consultation for 2 years. Many who were hesitating to stretch their budget, bought. They saw the long-term benefit.
3) Is the product inducing a positive frame of mind for the customer? With limb disability, individuals lose their morals too. They need physical and mental rehabilitation to function well with their new device. To our knowledge, no service provider provided mental rehabilitation. Rise Legs’ rehabilitation program included both. That made them get into a positive frame of mind. That in turn made them get back to functioning as they wanted.
4) Is the customer receiving social approval for using the product? People don’t always buy for themselves. They buy to belong to a cohort. They buy to project their social status. They buy to signal their success. Rise Legs’ devices were mechanically superior. They also looked like natural limbs from far. That made them feel that they belong to the cohort of normal people.
Starting a business is tough. Building a brand out of it is even tougher. It’s expensive and resource-heavy. But knowing your customer well is not.
So spend time knowing them well. And answer these questions while designing products for them.
That will set you on the right path to building a lovable brand.
A brand that will elevate the self-worth of its users.
