Repurposing your product to serve your consumers’ new needs

When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. Sales had dropped by more than 30% and the company was in crisis mode. In a move that defined the future of Apple, Jobs decided to reduce the number of their products by almost 70%. Instead of relying on retailers’ requests for changes in Apple’s product models, Jobs decided to stick to only four variants that focused on specific consumer personas.

In doing so, Apple managed to register a $309 million profit for the next year. Now how does a company manage to turn its fortunes despite being only 90 days away from insolvency at one point of time? The answer lies in Jobs’ auto-biography, where he says, “Deciding what not to do is just as important as deciding what to do.”

As India completes almost 8 months of the lockdown, a number of startups and MSMEs have had to rethink their sales strategies and plan for a digital-first marketplace. The rapidly growing number of Internet users in India is a solid indicator of where the future is heading. Here are five things you can do to ensure that your brand’s narrative fits the changing times.

1. Listen to your customers: Brands often make the mistake of trying to tell their customers what they need instead of understanding what their customers are trying to ask for. Through social listening tools you can into online conversations to figure out which aspects of your business need marketing and which don’t.

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2. Review your brand narrative: Can you describe which part of your products your consumers love? Will they continue to fall in love with these aspects even while sitting at home? Can you engage them through another perspective of looking at your brand’s offerings? Thinking about your products from a buyer’s POV can help you adapt your products to serve their current needs. This way your consumers will perceive you as an ally in the good times as well as bad.

3. Adopt Search Supremacy: Advertising today has become more targeted than ever. Ever googled the meaning of N-95 face-masks and got ads for it on your Instagram the very next day? Chances are that your digital profile is a part of an intricate ad-network. This network leverages your search habits to serve you just the right products you need. Adopting search supremacy is simply being in control on the other side of this network.

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4. Engage your existing customers: No one understands your product better than those who are already familiar with it. In times of crisis, involving your prevailing audiences through tailor-made content strengthens their long-term resolve in your brand’s voice as the one to follow when all else seems repetitive at best. From UGC contests to offering discount offers, there are a lot of ways to keep your followers engaged.

5. Consult creative professionals: Collaborative efforts with the apt certified experts can help you identify consumer targeting and ensure the best possible ROI for your marketing budgets. Find a team that can simplify your understanding of online sales and you will gain an edge over your competitors like no other. Keeping this need in mind, we’ve devised Albatrot Cart. Our newest offering, Albatrot Cart offers you a team of certified professionals that are trained in understanding the complexities of consumer data and leveraging it to achieve maximum ROI.

To summarise the above, the lockdown has hurt everyone deeply, but it has also given us the opportunity to realign our goals and rally our resources. By paying heed to the growing shift towards online sales, you can not only stay relevant with your consumers but also tweak your strategy to include professionals who can propel your growth by keeping your best interests in mind. We’re entering a new age of marketing where embracing new methods to deliver on your customers’ new needs has become imperative. After all, “Deciding what not to do is just as important as deciding what to do.”