Flailing Retailers Need To Learn To ‘Sell The Hole’
Flailing Retailers Need To Learn To ‘Sell The Hole’ https://csuiteold.c-suitenetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/flailing-retailers-need-to-learn-to-sell-the-hole.jpg 960 544 C-Suite Network https://csuiteold.c-suitenetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/flailing-retailers-need-to-learn-to-sell-the-hole.jpg
I cannot begin to tell you how many times executives at various retailers have said to me that “it’s all about the product.” Earlier in my career, when someone would spout this alleged truism, my somewhat smug thought would be that I could easily come up with many examples where that was demonstrably false. In more recent years, I’ve come to believe that it is precisely retailers’ false clinging to this notion that helps explain why so many find themselves standing at the precipice.
We can argue at length about how important product features and benefits are to consumers’ purchase decisions and long-term loyalty. And clearly that varies by industry segment and customer type. Yet by now it should be obvious that in the vast majority of cases good product is necessary, but hardly sufficient, in determining retail success. It should be clear that people buy the story before they buy the product.
Stated differently, when a consumer buys a drill, it’s because they want the hole. When someone pays $4 for a bottle of water they are mostly paying for how that water makes them feel, not…
