Marketing Hard-to-sell Products 1 Introduction: Customers do not want to buy something just because the organization thinks it is worth,

they want to buy what they think is worth. We often see this scenario in the retail business where after buying a car the dealer pushes you to buy an extended warranty plan. Customers don't care what the organization thinks unless it's in line with what they think. Huskins, P., writes that Marketing is usually focused on sales to the customer/retailer. The traditional trade marketing role is intended to own the shopper, but is usually the 'buck-stops-here' point of contact (p.30, 2011). To excel in marketing it is important to study the craft, and master the art of serving your customers quickly and eloquently. Customers resist such pushy marketing techniques today more than ever. But there exists certain products which the customer may think he does not need but with constant education of the perils of not possessing one may eventually change his mind. Health related equipments such as sugar level monitoring and blood pressure monitoring products fall into such a category.

Uncertain Customer relationship during the Initial Stages: Companies present a certain marketing plan to sell their goods and services but often the needs and demands of others are not similar in nature and therefore make sales & distribution a very challenging process. Marketing techniques which push a particular product or model or option without detailing its value often results in the customer walking away from it. When marketing a product which is not an easy sell, the marketing manager must divide this kind of customers into a different market segment. Mullins, J. W., Walker, Jr., O. C., define market segmentation as "distinct subsets of people with similar needs circumstances and characteristics that lead them to respond in a similar way to a particular product or service offering" (p.17, 2010). The marketing personnel should be trained to quickly recognize such customers and target them with a non-traditional marketing approach. Lee,

Marketing Hard-to-sell Products 2 T., states that companies that can accurately segment their customers based on their behavioral characteristics will earn a better return on its marketing campaigns than competitors that cannot (p.51-61, para7, 2011). In todays world, It is getting more difficult and expensive to market products and services, (especially complex ones) using traditional advertising approaches. In the absence of proper training to recognize such target customers, the result would be dwindling sales and demoralized workforce.

Formulate Strategic Marketing programs and Ideas:

In such cases where complex

products needs to be marketed, multi-step marketing can be promoted to both educate your target audience and establish yourself as a trusted advisor. This trust is the foundation for any meaningful communication between two people. Honor your customers trust by making their best interest your first priority. You cannot sell anyone anything without this trust and rapport. If they don't feel connected, and trusting of you, then they are all on their own in the buying process, and you have no say in the matter. Allow your customer to lead early on in the phase when they are explaining why they do not want to buy this product. Andrea V. Hernandez states that such a technique, gives you a profile of the customer. It gives you an idea what their needs are and what their future needs will be (p.1, 2007). Have them point to the product that makes them feel good and ask them, what do you like about this one? Allow then to choose the product that they feel good about, getting to know your customer and their taste, and uncovering their real motivation. Rather then ask prospects to buy immediately, you want them to come back to you after you put them through a sustained education process. The information you provide shouldn't be a marketing pitch. Its purpose is to educate prospects about your product or service and common problems to avoid. Guillermo D'Andrea, David Marcotte, & Gwen Dixon Morrison state that a

Marketing Hard-to-sell Products 3 marketing department can Turn your stores into centers of learning, where shoppers can fill the gaps in their product knowledge (vol. 88, 2010). Help the customer make an informed purchase decision. Spear, K., agrees that shoppers recalled seeing and interacting with retail marketing, and then went on to increase their spend significantly after interacting (p.25 2011). Establish yourself and the organization you represent as an expert in the field. Position your team as a trusted advisor who can assist with making the right purchase decision. Follow up leads in a systematic fashion with phone calls or mailings. Now you have moved beyond the stage of talking to a prospecting customer to a live one.

Conclusion: Since the marketing process is broken into smaller chunks, and supplies the customer with enough information at each stage, it makes it easy for them to proceed further. A high hurdle has been converted into a series of smaller steps. Such a marketing technique involves more perseverance than the traditional but when you consider that it can become your entire leadnurturing process, it's worth the effort. Many brands have made a big name for themselves in the industry through constant perseverance. This sounds simplistic, but by this point the right plan of action should be apparent. Such perseverance strategy should be summarized in an active, concrete, specific and powerfully worded paragraph. A marketing strategy is loaded with make-orbreak implications as it guides your company's entire marketing plan. From this summary, a marketing plan should be developed, or a marketing calendar, which describes the critical path for each element of the strategy. Vicki Gerson in her article states that a marketing plan states what will be done, who will do it, when they will do it, why it will

Marketing Hard-to-sell Products 4 be done, how it will be done (p.38-44, para 6, 1998). Follow the plan. And at regular intervals review it based on feedback. Continue to hone your plan, but look at it as a long-term proposition.

References

Andrea V. Hernandez. (23 January). Got a good marketing plan?: A marketing plan will grow your small business to a target audience. McClatchy - Tribune Business News,1. Retrieved May 13, 2011, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 1199906461). http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb? did=1199906461&sid=2&Fmt=3&clientId=74379&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Guillermo D'Andrea, David Marcotte, & Gwen Dixon Morrison. (2010, December). Let Emerging Market Customers Be Your Teachers. Harvard Business Review, 88(12). Retrieved May 13, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 2203285131). http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb? did=2203285131&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=74379&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Huskins, P.. (2011, February). Same story...so don't expect a different answer! Retail World, 64(3), 30. Retrieved May 13, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 2311031861). http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb? did=2311031861&sid=3&Fmt=2&clientId=74379&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Marketing Hard-to-sell Products 5 Lee, T.. (2010). Head or Tail? An Integrative Analysis of Customer Value and Product Portfolio. International Journal of Business and Management, 5(12), 51-61. Retrieved May 13, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 2225191331). http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb? did=2225191331&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=74379&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Mullins, J. W., Walker, Jr., O. C. (2010). Marketing management: A strategic decision making approach (7th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin. ISBN: 9780073381169.

Spear, K.. (2011, February). Shoppers under the influence: how in-store marketing increases shopper spend. Retail World, 64(3), 25. Retrieved May 13, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 2311031831). http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb? did=2311031831&sid=3&Fmt=2&clientId=74379&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Vicki Gerson. (1998, September). Arming yourself with a marketing plan. Bank Marketing, 30(9), 38-44. Retrieved May 13, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 34665606).