Whether you love cooking, endevour to keep a spotless house or just desire the basics in your home, chances are you have a favourite household item. People easily remember brands that are promoted on their favourite items, or even the ones they use on a regular basis. Therefore, kitchen and household products are a great way to provide end-users with items that will become favourites in their homes.
Promomarketing.com interviewed Daniel Kielman, of American Made Cutlery and Lisa Bascom, of AmericaFoam, to learn how they increased their sales with kitchen and household promotional products.
Increase your selection to your customers add-on collection
Selection, quality and pricing are three areas distributors can focus on simultaneously, without causing stress. Kielman maintains that customers love adding onto their collection, so providing a wide selection is, in his opinion, an important sales and marketing strategy, particularly when your product is established and sought after.
“We concentrate on making the best kitchen knives and cooking utensils,” Kielman said. “Buyers gravitate to items that fit their budget on promotion. The extensive selection allows for continuity gifts over years - both the customer and the distributor can appreciate the easy selection process each year. And, customers enjoy adding to their collection.”
However, that doesn’t mean quality should be compromised. Make sure your products are strong and durable, otherwise, they will collect dust instead of making impressions.
Bascom told us that some of Amerifoam’s most popular products are all-purpose cleaning scrubbers. “The response has been overwhelming, as our scrubbers are guaranteed not to scratch any non-stick surface,” she noted. “These products are very durable and hold up for several months. They can be easily disinfected in the dishwasher. With granite and stainless on the rise, these scrubbers are strong enough to deep clean, but not too abrasive to damage.”
Innovation Is the Way to Go
Have you ever been in a store and saw a unique item that caught your interest and made you give it a try just because you had never seen or used one before? Of course! We all have.
A great way to stand out and attract more people’s attention is to provide some innovative products. These items might even end up becoming your best sellers. American Made Cutlery’s current popular products include “paring knives, steak knives and the Carving Set,” Kielman said.
“The Tomato Knife is our second bestselling item because most homes hadn’t owned one, and the wide serrations provide an amazing cutting experience, not only for tomatoes but also for green peppers, onions and all types of foods!”
Therefore, marketers should not fear the introduction of new products, but should try to introduce them wherever possible, provided they give great value. You can also build greater creative and innovative campaigns around these products due to their novelty in the market.
Samples Galore
When there is a likelihood that people will be uncertain whether to buy a new product or not, sample giveaways, wherever possible, can help to ease doubts and encourage trials.
“So often, when we give away these items as samples, we get such positive feedback from customers, the buzz on them is amazing,” Bascom said.
Samples give end-buyers a first-hand experience and impression of the product. And, if it turns out to be enjoyable, they will keep the sample to remember where they got it and will be 3 times more likely to make a purchase.
“The second most prized result, is after they are used for the first time, they become the favourite items in the drawer,” Kielman said.
Pairing is Sharing!
Another great way to boost sales with household products is to pair them with other related items. Any occasion could be a perfect opportunity to introduce a theme and take advantage of this strategy - holidays, change of season, events and special days.
For example: “Pie servers given with pies at Thanksgiving, paring knives given with orchard apples in the fall,” Kielman says. “There are a ton of opportunities for creative tie-ins or catchy phrases, such as ‘slice of the pie’ or ‘cut above.’”
Creativity is the key, but simplicity goes along with it. By simply pairing two items that are related to each other, a whole new promotion can be created that will help to boost your sales, and get a new innovative product launched and tested.
Digital Marketing Campaigns
Trevor Donenberg, of HomeZone Digital, suggests that live or video demonstrations are also a great way to showcase a new product, which can be even more successful than a trial, as it mitigates the risk in the buyer’s mind, and is less costly to the marketer as well.
A great way to promote your home industry products, and particularly your innovative new products, is by creating and building an enticing sales funnel, and then sending leads to it by means of digital advertising campaign, for example, on Facebook, Google Display Network ads and/or Linked In, especially if you want to get your potential customers to try your new product on promo or as a free trial. Facebook is the world’s No. 1 targeting platform that homes in on the exact customer you’re looking to hook-in.
HomeZone, a division of Thundermount Digital, can get you started on warming content, lead magnet and special promo offers that will get your business all fired up and ready to sell sell sell!
So, what are you waiting for? Become an innovator and then let the world know about it.
Credit: This Blog is based on and adapted from an article found on promomarketing.com