Imagine someone just told you to buy a smart fragrance diffuser for $100. Now, imagine you have no idea what that is, what it does or why it’s worth $100. There’s not much chance you’re rushing out your door to buy a smart fragrance diffuser right now.
You might think that if you had a new, revolutionary idea, it would be easy to find customers to buy-in. But the truth is, sometimes new and innovative products can be some of the hardest to sell. What if consumers don’t understand the product? What if they aren’t aware of the problem your product can solve? How do you sell something your customers don’t understand?
Well, the good news is, that’s exactly the question we’re gonna answer here today. Let’s talk about how to create demand for new and unique products.
Typically, your product will fall into one of two categories:
-
You’re selling a product or brand that is known abroad but not in your country.
-
You’re selling a brand-new product, e.g. your own invention.
Let’s take a look at the example, and imagine you’re now selling smart fragrance diffusers. We’ll say 10 people per month search for this specific item. This means that very few people are aware of — or currently see a need for —your particular diffuser product. We would say product awareness is low, therefore the demand is also low. So what do you do?
How to Sell a Unique Product on Your store
Your website should provide information that teaches a potential customer about the product, how it works, and why it’s better than traditional alternatives.
Complement your video
Describe the advantages and ways of use on the page. For example, tell how and why smart fragrance diffusers are useful at home, in an office, in a cafe.
As opposed to ordinary products, template descriptions won’t work here, as you need specific information about the product or a comparison with a well-known alternative.
Start a blog
In your store’s blog, you can tell how the product works and answer the most common questions.
Write not only about the product itself but also about related topics that your target audience is interested in. This will help to attract search traffic. For example, you can write how to choose fragrances for different purposes or about the danger/safety of aromatic compounds.
Show, don’t tell
Use videos and quality (how about 360º?) photos to help your customers understand how the product works.
You’ll probably have to make several videos to see what works better for your customers. Andrea and Donna from FlipZees sell glasses that help you to put makeup on. That’s how they found their perfect format:
“The first video we made for our website was a demonstration video just to show customers how the product works. It was about 50 seconds long. And then we realize it looks great, however, people didn’t know what it was. So basically, we realized: “Oh, we don’t have a problem that shows the problem and then the solution, now it’s just the solution”. So we made a new video with a professional model to state a problem and the solution. And a shorter version, because then we found out that for social media like Facebook or Instagram it can’t be longer than 15 seconds before people’s attention span disappears.”
Videos can be placed on the homepage and on product pages too. Add schemes or infographics to a video, they will help to make a decision for those people who can’t watch the video at the moment.
Show the product in use
If you sell technical solutions or custom-made products, make case studies that demonstrate your work. They can be placed both on a blog and a separate page on your website. Examples will help customers understand how your product works.
Now you know how to successfully sell a product even if no one’s heard about it. Maybe you already sell such goods? Are you thinking to enter into the market with something innovative and unique like FlipZees did? Don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and ideas in the comments!
