The driving force behind a little biz is usually the product
that you sell. Making your product is the thing that brings you joy, the part
of your biz you love doing and the thing that inspired you to start your biz in
the first place. But often we put so much effort into making our products and
not enough into the things we are doing to promote our products. And then we
wonder why people aren’t knocking down our doors to buy!
Your brand message
Your brand message needs to match your product, and the way
you show that product to the world. for instance if your brand message is high
quality, then don’t show poor quality snapshots of your product. if your brand
message is luxury, don’t just pop your images on a facebook page, create a
gorgeous catalogue. if your brand message is custom-made, one of a kind, make
sure your images are as well.
Product images
Your product images are one of the most important parts of
promoting your biz, so it is well worth and investment of time or money to be
sure they are superb. take time to think about the kinds of images that will
match your brand and find photographers or resources that will allow you to get
those images. look to see what other, unrelated businesses are doing with their
images to find new inspiration. be sure your images match your brand message!
Product descriptions
Product descriptions can be a tricky thing to write, people
either have not enough information or they have way too many descriptors. just
because your item is hand-made, one-of-a-kind, custom ordered and exquisitely
detailed does not mean you need to say all of those things at once! be clear,
be simple and just say exactly what you need people to know. be sure your
descriptions fit with your brand message!
Depending on your product you may have a number of choices
on offer: colours, patterns, styles, sizes, postage… and more! it can easily
get very complicated for a customer to figure out how to choose what they would
like. find a way to make it simple for people to choose options and before you
publish your product prices & descriptions get a number of people to test
it out, see if you are being clear and simple.
Pricing &
packages
Like many biz builders you probably struggle with your pricing.
we are often tempted to price things low as a way to get customers. but it is
very important that you do not sell on price. affordable or cheap should not be
your brand message. if that is the only reason people are buying your thing, no
one will stick around when someone else comes along and undercuts your prices.
Take time to be sure your price matches your brand message
and is competitive in your niche. if you have product packages that you offer
demonstrate the value people receive rather than how affordable it is. if you
have names for your different packages or pricing levels make sure those match
your brand too.
Delivery
there are a lot of choices when it comes to how we market
our products; with a number of print options (flyers, catalogues, brochures,
posters, post cards, print ads etc.) as well as online options (websites,
blogs, e-newsletters, facebook pages, flickr albums, online ads, etc.) we can
sometimes spread ourselves too thin, or take a free option that can be
ineffective.
Determine where your ideal clients will be most likely to
look for information on your products and focus on a few marketing strategies
that will match your brand message. Invest your time and money into doing a few
things really well, rather than trying to do all of them poorly.
Stand out
If all of your competitors post flyers at the local coffee shop
hand out tri-fold brochures and have a facebook page, do something different to
promote your biz. Create a gorgeous online magazine, hand out mini-cards with
different product images on each (moo.com has fantastic mini-cards), or display
a stunning canvas collage of your products at a trendy café. Look to what other
businesses outside of your niche are doing for inspiration. Use your
promotional materials to stand out from the competition.
Be consistent
Nothing dilutes a brand message or makes you look more
unprofessional than inconsistency. whether you are promoting your products
online or in print be consistent with how you show your product – image styles,
image sizes, image borders, font styles, font sizes, background colours,
additional design elements, watermarks… these are all places where consistency
will make your promotional materials look professional.
In addition, be sure you are being consistent across the
methods you use; your facebook album should clearly match your online catalogue
which should clearly match your e-flyer which should clearly match your printed
brochure.
Branding
Not only do your promotional materials and strategies need
to match your brand message but you should also use this as an opportunity to
display the look of your brand as well. use the colours, fonts & designs of
your branding in both your online and print promotional materials. use your
logo to watermark your product images, and your brand colour as a border for
the images. the more consistent you are the more brand recognition you achieve.
Deal with objections
All customers have objections running through their mind no
matter what the purchase. consider ahead of time what those objections could be
and use your promotional methods to deal with them. use your images,
descriptions & pricing to head off objections as well as being clear about
warrantees, return policies, care & maintenance etc.
Tell a story
If you can tell a compelling story about your product your
biz will be more memorable, will be more likely to be talked about to others,
and will be more interesting to buy from. try to add at least a touch of
storytelling to your promotional materials: get people to imagine themselves
buying and loving your products, get them interested in the background being
your products, or the reason why you do what you do.
However you choose to promote your products the keys are to
be consistent with your brand, be professional, and stand out. use this as an
opportunity to let your biz and the products you sell shine!
By Karen Gunton
