To evaluate a firm’s marketing success, it is critical to explore why customers do not purchase the company’s products. This can help analyze the possible errors in the firm’s marketing strategy and plan future approaches to increase sales. Consumers can have multiple causes for not buying specific goods. This paper will discuss some of these reasons and propose the ways on how to tackle them to effectively raise the firm’s sales.
Affordability
One of the common issues for a purchaser that leads to a refusal to buy a product is the question of affordability. An item’s sales often depend on its price, which is why to evaluate its success in the market, it is important to consider its cost. To overcome this obstacle the seller can choose to change the original price of a commodity (Ferrell & Hartline, 2013b). With the decreased value, it becomes more affordable for the potential consumer.
Product Awareness
Another factor that might influence the vending of goods is product awareness. The customer is more likely to notice and subsequently purchase an item that is profoundly advertised. Therefore, potential customers will not be able to buy a commodity because they are not aware of its existence. One of the ways to address this challenge is focusing on promotion. An item can be advertised with the use of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC). This tactic includes advertising on various media platforms, increased public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion (Ferrell & Hartline, 2013c). These methods are efficient in making the potential buyers notice the goods, which would consequently raise the company’s sales.
Incorrect Segments of Target Customers
Sales might not be successful due to the marketing to an excessively large segment of customers. Some commodities or services are not meant for everyone, and, instead, should be targeted at a specific kind of buyer. In this case, the seller might consider reevaluating their marketing strategies and engage in the process of market segmentation (Ferrell & Hartline, 2013b). This technique identifies the groups of consumers that the product is targeted at. To do this, the trader should understand who the firm’s primary customers are and what common characteristics they share. Due to the specific needs, the buyers will return to purchase from the same company again, which will eventually make the firm more successful.
Competitive Alternatives
The purchaser might not wish to buy an item due to the presence of more expedient alternatives in the market. When two businesses sell similar kinds of commodities, the factors of convenience and affordability become crucial. To attract the customer to the company’s product and not to the alternative, the trader should develop a competitive advantage (Ferrell & Hartline, 2013a). The seller can assess the weaknesses, strengths, opportunities, and threats of their marketing program with the use of the SWOT analysis (Ferrell & Hartline, 2013a). This would help the seller learn which business aspects and methods their firm is more successful at, compared to the competitor, and focus on them, as well as improve weaker elements.
Human Factor
At times it is impossible to know the exact reasons why customers change their mind at the point of buying a product. It can be due to the negative interaction with the seller or might be an influence of a completely spontaneous decision. In either way, to avoid this challenge in the future the marketer can focus on building long-term personal relationships through sales management (Ferrell & Hartline, 2013c). This process focuses on a more individual approach to each customer and fosters positive relationships between salespeople and consumers. To achieve this, the marketer should pay attention to the training of the firm’s personnel.
Conclusion
The issues outlined above directly influence the success of a product in the market as they lead customers to refuse to buy a good or service from the firm. These problems vary from incorrect marketing and promotion to the human factor or the presence of more affordable alternatives. However, these issues can be tackled through a thorough analysis of the marketing process by identifying its weaknesses and strengths.
References
Ferrell, O. C., & Hartline, M. (2013a). Marketing in Today’s Economy. In Marketing Strategy: Text and Cases (6th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Ferrell, O. C., & Hartline, M. (2013b). Customers, Segmentation, and Target Marketing. In Marketing Strategy: Text and Cases (6th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Ferrell, O. C., & Hartline, M. (2013c). The Marketing Program. In Marketing Strategy: Text and Cases (6th ed.). Cengage Learning.