Marketing of “Hard to Sell” Products
The goals of the marketing are usually to popularize the product in the market and make a profit for the organization. There are traditional marketing strategies that are common to organization dealing with common goods and services. These are such as sale promotion and advertisement. However an organization may have difficult to sale products which make the marketing process a little bit complicated. These are such funeral services (because no one would wish to need these services) and diabetes equipment (because no one would wish to fall ill). There fore company selling such products need to go beyond the traditional marketing strategies and tactics.
Successful marketing are usually based on the ability of the strategies to create proper exchange relationship between the organization and the consumer. When an organization is dealing with products such as those described above, the exchange relationship between them and the client is interfered with. This is because the clients do not wish to get such products but are only compelled by circumstances (Deighton, 2005). In order to restore this exchange relationship company need to go beyond traditional marketing and adapt more persuasive marketing such as educating the target and establishing trust between the clients and the organization.
The first step to gaining the exchange relationship is to educate consumers about your products (Deighton, 2005). It is hard for client to appreciate the benefits of “hard to sell” products such as funeral services. In case of an organization dealing with funeral services, the organization should show concern and sympathy for the potential clients and explain to them how the products will assist them handle the situation more smoothly.
The benefits presented by the services or product should be clearly stipulated to the client. The organization should present a scenario where both the client and the organization will benefit from the relationship. The organization should also help the prospect to make informed decision (Deighton, 2005). The organization should act as an advisor to the client. The organization should be able to explain to the client why he or she should choose the recommended product/ service of the rest.
The organization should also be able to position itself as an expert in the relevant field (Pels, 1999). If the organization deals with funeral services it must make effort that will create the perception in the mind of the clients that they are experts in the field. These may be achieved by provided a high quality services that will create a positive image of the company in the minds of consumers. “Being the best at what you do” attitude will slowly create a network of relationships with clients entrenching the company into the field. The relationship kind of marketing will work for organizations dealing with “hard to sell” products (Pels, 1999). By maintaining strong relationships with existing clients an organization benefits from repeat business from the clients and from word of mouth marketing from the network of loyal customers.
In conclusion, marketing products that customers are unwilling to purchases (funeral services and diabetes equipments) may be a bit tricky for organizations. This is because the exchange relationship that involves such products is usually interfered with as the client does perceive the benefits of the products. In order to create an exchange relationship for such products, the organization must educate the potential consumers and act as trusted adviser. The organization should also focus on creating strong relationships with existing clients.
References
Deighton J. & Grayson K. (2005). Marketing and Seduction: Building Exchange Relations. Journal of Consumer Research. 21
Pels J. (1999). Exchange Relationships in Consumer Markets. European Journal of Marketing. 33 (2), 1-7
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