4 Marketing Strategies to Increase Your Brand Value

Some businessmen who claim to have tried all advertising schemes from postcard mailing to getting their PR published is at a loss as to the cause of their dismal sales. Getting the word out is an integral part of your business, but advertising and exposure is not the cure-all answer to all your marketing woes.

You know you’re customers are out there and you have your business plan to prove it. Why is it that you’re carefully studied feasibility studies and market analysis fails to give you the projected sales you were hoping for? It can be a product mismatch or a failure to engage your customers with the wrong brand positioning.

Here are a few things to consider:

1. Prioritizing Value over Competitive Pricing

Let the big retail stores who can afford the razor thin margins to compete with prices for commodity items. Make the prices of your generic brands competitive, but be sure you have a unique offer you can charge a premium price for.

If you’re nothing more than a small version of a bigger store, hoping to create an edge you’re you cheaper products or convenience, then you are in big trouble.

2. Expand Your Product Offerings

Big retail outlets often place their bets on brands that have a large following. Each product they offer incurs a lot of overhead from handling cost, storage, and the long queue of bureaucratic work. In most cases, they have purchasing officers who never spent a day as a sales clerk brokering deals with these product manufacturers.

As a small and agile business, you can fill in these gaps that create a niche market. You can work with small manufacturers or cottage industries as a source specialty items. Better yet, you can even negotiate with these suppliers to provide you with custom made items, or listen to your suggestions in product design.


3. Also Target Those who Influence Purchasing Decisions

Even when you think you’ve got your target demographic all figured out, you have to remember to advertise to those people who influence purchasing decisions. Although majority of your shoppers are male, you should think about the women they may be buying these items for. On the other hand, in some cases women do the shopping for the men in the household.

Targeting a specific demographic while alienating others may lead to lower sales. More than just market demographics, you have to also consider consumer behavior and psychographics. Studies claim for instance that women are behind 80% of all purchases of consumer goods which includes cars, lawn mowers, and wrenches.

4. Be an Expert in Your Field

More than just products, successful businessmen sell their expertise. They are those who know their products by heart, know its strengths and weaknesses, and in what areas customers can use them. You can include your consultation services as value added when they purchase products from your store.

In addition, you can set up a mailing list you can use to send postcards, brochures, or catalogs that offer a wealth of information geared to educate customers about individual items or the industry as a whole. You can use postcard mailing as an alert to inform your customers about new product offers and events.