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In Part 1, we discussed why selling an exclusive product line is a good idea, and what makes an exclusive product such a sellable item. In Part 2, we will focus on things that need to be done to successfully sell exclusive products.
Pricing
People believe that you only get what you pay for. So the price tag of the product should be high enough to label it exclusive. However, High Price can greatly decrease your market share. To price your exclusive products, understand the target audience and their disposable income. Pricing by comparing with like products is hard since the product is supposed to be exclusive, so consider the substitutes and alternatives – if the customer doesn’t buy your product, what else will they buy to serve the same purpose (for example: if you sell home-made cakes, comparing with a high quality ready-made cake brand will be a good idea).
Branding
Goal of your advertising and marketing strategy should be to make the brand of your online store synonymous with the attributes of the exclusive products you sell – pricey but high quality, desirable, and unique. When potential customers see or talk of the product, they should think of your brand immediately. When people start believing in the brand, they will buy other products – exclusive or non-exclusive – of the same brand without thinking twice about its reliability. This spiraling effect will boosts sales.
Marketing and Launch Plan
A product has the image that the consumer perceives through its marketing and advertising, more so in case of exclusive products being sold online. So it is necessary to bring a feeling of exclusivity through some innovative marketing right from the start. We would recommend some hide-and-seek advertising to launch the product successfully.
List the USP of the Product
Make a list of unique features of the product and create a punch line associated with each one of them. Care should be taken to highlight the feature without actually revealing the product. The ideal scenario would be when your product has a feature that no other similar product in the market possesses.
Choose the Target Segment
It is far easier and more effective to target a specific set of customers rather than everyone in general. So it’s imperative to be sure of your target customer. After deciding the target segment it becomes easier to choose the sites that will connect with the right people and give maximum ROI. We don’t want even the ads to be available everywhere all the time!
Whip-up curiosity for the Product
The advertising can be released in parts to generate interest. For example, each punch line that we worked on above can be released one by one. . We have to build the curiosity to the level where the customers are eating out of your hand and waiting the product to be revealed.
Well-begun is half-done. If the advertising campaign is able to generate lots of interest in your product, your launch will be deemed successful. Once that happens, you will have lots of potential customers visiting your site to check out the product. Now it’s up to you whether you are able to convert them into buyers.
Once the product has been launched you have to think of ways to maintain its exclusivity. Here are two ways how you can do that:
- Private Sales – You could have dedicated websites like those for HauteLook, Gilt Groupe, etc. where customers have to join to be able to buy the products. This adds to the aura of exclusivity.
- E-mail Campaigns – Gathering details of potential customers from social websites, you can send product catalogs through mail and invite them to join your preferred customer list. It makes them feel special and cut above the rest.
The going might be slow in the beginning because by choosing to sell an exclusive product, you have decreased the potential customer size. But the turnover will more than take care of that. Keep going!!
