Are you having a hard time preventing your customers from treating your products and services like a commodity? It is the mission of many of todays tough, informed, and experienced procurement professionals to turn your product into a commodity, shaving any semblance of unique value that you provide, so they can buy at the lowest price, or at the “best deal”.
But what customers are REALLY buying is “business improvement”. They will only invest in your product if there is a BENEFIT: Increased revenues, or savings they can take to the bottom line. Think of your products and services as a medium to deliver business improvement to your customer.
Trade promotion follows the same formula: you must bring VALUE to your promotion or offer, or else you aren’t delivering a BENEFIT to the customer. TPM over time has deteriorated into creating deals that often line the pockets of your trading partners, without providing any overriding value to the brand or product promoted. What is the answer? Focus your attention on building and sustaining a difference that cannot be commoditized. Develop your sales team so they can consistently and convincingly provide a layer of real business value for your customers above and beyond what your products and services do. That's the difference. Your team will differentiate itself by leveraging its experience, network of contacts, access to successful customers and experts, deep knowledge of your customers' industry, and an above-average level of business savvy. Members of your team will command instant respect and credibility, and will have the ability to gain and maintain access to executive-level decision makers, enabling them to win more business without sacrificing your margins.
So as you plan your brand support activities, combine your DEAL with SALES TRAINING on how to position and SELL the deal based on its BENEFITS to the customer. Furthermore, build real differentiation for your team by educating them on the business improvement your products bring to your customers, and train them on how to articulate that value in a clear, concise, and compelling way.