MARKETING #TIPS

                                                                                                                                             Stop struggling to sell your goods, take the right approach....

     As a sales person, have never struggled to sell anything. There are rules of engagement when it comes to selling your goods........

        Now if you are in the business of buying and selling, or planning to start a mini importation business, then take note of this few thoughts...

#1.     BUILD YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE AND NICHE, BEFORE EVEN BRINGING YOUR GOODS TO THE MARKET I.E THE BUSINESS WORLD.

        Most people just because they can assess funds just go ahead and flood the market with their goods without first knowing who and who might be interested in their imported goods.

By this I mean that just before you bring in the goods, take a real record, of who and who is interested in what you intend bringing...:

You can do this easily these days by simply joining social media forums, groups, etc. On these forums, post write-ups and pictures of what you intend to selling like you already have them. Carefully observe peoples response towards your "intended items". Is their response positive, or negative? Are they complaining about the quality of the product, or the price...? And how many persons are interested in them and want you to send them across immediately and how many persons are saying a week time?

This help you know the popularity of your intended goods. This is very important in marketing... This is part of how you can develop your target audience. Now let's assume that your plan was to bring in 100 pieces of a particular android phone and after you have done this market research for a week, only 4 persons showed interest. What does that indicate? Negative "need" for the product... 

''Don't go for that product... Get your plan B product tested too...''

#2.     STUDY YOUR ENVIRONMENT

Secondly you must be able to study your environment. It will be very funny to stay in a rural area and plan to sell very expensive gadgets like iPads, iPhones, laptops, and other sophisticated stuffs there... Know the peoples needs... Remember a core business man doesn't pursue to satisfy peoples wants but needs, if he or she wants to be in business for a very long time... The reason is wants are very temporal, but needs are deeply rooted and our lives resolve round them.... So pursue to meet the needs of your niche...

It's like opening a world class boutique in a very remote area. No matter how beautiful your stuffs are, you won't make sales... You do not expect a granny in the village to count 23k or even 7k to buy one pair of shoes. No. This is a misplaced priority. It's like opening a bookshop where there's no single school close by. I bet you won't sell. Book shops are opened in very busy school fronts... Get the right environment for your goods.

#3. DON'T GO FOR SEASONAL STUFFS, UNLESS IN THEIR SEASONS.

This is a very delicate selling issue. Here I mean you shouldn't just sell things that have seasons and once their season is gone, you are out of business. Imagine if your goods sell only in the raining season and you decide to stock up your shop with this item even in the dry season and this product is all you sell... One it means that you will be out of business in the dry season and your sales and business will be seasonal. And two if they are goods that need maintenance and high level of storage, you will spend extra money on them. Best thing to do is to sell varieties as a starter. By varieties I mean have what suits every season.... Please doesn't mean you being jack of all trades. It means you should learn to plan properly ahead...

#4. DON'T BRING GOODS LARGER THAN YOUR MARKET SIZE. WHEN YOU HAVE INCREASED YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE, THEN YOU CAN INCREASE YOUR SUPPLY.

I have seen a lot of supermarkets with so many expired goods. The fact remains that they fail to take this to heart... If you have done your market research well and know the numbers of persons that patronize you on the average, then you will know the amount of goods to bring in... 

Yes, I know that your market size as you prosper and make more profits, should of a truth expand and explode. But the fact still remains that you should be able to point out which of your goods have the highest sales margin... Then bring it in more. Also put to heart its timing.... I mean when it's needed most...

#5. REMEMBER THAT YOUR FIRST POINT OF SALE IS YOUR IMMEDIATE ENVIRONMENT. ALWAYS GO FOR MARKET TEST RUN AND ANALYSIS. THUS, BUILD A SOCIAL MEDIA GROUP, FORUM, PAGE, ETC.

                                 TO BE CONTINUED...................

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