Stop Selling Commodity, Build A Brand Instead
The worst situation is when your customers regard your product or service as a commodity (even if you sell commodities).
Let me explain…
Commodities are products that can be found almost everywhere. You can get them from anywhere or from anyone. There are few or no distinctions between commodities. If a product is a commodity, nearly all the brands available are identical, so buying from any of them will be OK.
For example, sugar is a commodity. Most people don’t care what brand of sugar they buy. The most important thing is that it sweetens one’s drink, not the brand that produces the sugar.
When consumers see your product as a commodity, you’re easily replaceable. They can quickly obtain from others what they can get from you. So, your absence in their life makes little or no difference.
If you’re a fashion stylist, in your absence, your customers can easily approach other stylists without hesitation. That’s COMMODITY.
If you’ve got a shoe brand and people don’t care about buying from you specifically, that’s a commodity.
For commodities, consumers will only buy from you if you’re close to their physical location and will go to someone else if you’re not.
Don’t be a commodity seller.
However, the problem is not the product; the problem is how you sell the product.
Nike is a shoe brand. Anyone could make shoes, but Nike isn’t a commodity because people will prefer to buy from them than from several other shoe brands.
iPhone is a phone brand. There are other phone brands, but several people would instead buy an iPhone. Why? It’s not a commodity.
So, the worst place to be is for your consumers to see your product as a commodity.
Why?
The consequences are enormous.
- You won’t be as profitable as you should be.
- You will constantly struggle to attract customers.
- There won’t be repeatable sales because consumers won’t always return to you. This means the cost of customer acquisition will always increase.
- Your competitors will attract customers and leave you stranded.
- You won’t have people who advocate for or talk to others about your brand. And word of mouth marketing is the best form of marketing.
And many others…
So, what’s the solution?
Well, the solution is to change the perception of your customers. They must start seeing your product or service as something they can’t get anywhere else.
They must start seeing a difference in what you offer compared to your competitors.
You must build a brand that people will say “yes” to over hundreds of other good options.
You must build a compelling brand so consumers will wait for you instead of saying yes to other competing brands.
But how do you achieve this? If you’d like to know, please comment below.
