Hello, I currently am selling blenders online. My main market is USA. I have my manufacturing in China with an amazing product design and technology team and a line of technologically improved kitchen appliances under production. Is it even possible to challenge some of the biggest brands such as kitchenaid in the industry while operating only online? If so, then how do i go about it?
1. Organic traffic through great content.
2. Classic (but targeted) paid online marketing - Facebook, Google etc - depending on your target market (this method will be tough/expensive because you're competing against the bigger players who have huge budgets - so it's less advised)
3. Endorsements from social influencers - seeing how you're a new brand, this would be your best option - to get as many social influencers to promote your product. Make sure that their followers are your correct target market. Another advantage of this method is that you can offer them your products as payment which might save you some money.
4. Advertising stunt - try think of an 'out of the box' stunt that you can do that will catch media attention - nothing better than free advertising. You have to be creative though.
I've successfully helped over 350 entrepreneurs, startups and businesses, and I would be happy to help you. After scheduling a call, please send me some background information so that I can prepare in advance - thus giving you maximum value for your money. Take a look at the great reviews I’ve received: https://clarity.fm/assafben-david
As Assaf mentioned, most of the magic is going to be in the marketing. Certain options like influencers are really only possible if you have a great product(which you think you do).
The other important thing to remember is most products are not a "one type fits all". I personally have both a Vitamix and a SharkNinja and use them for different things(of course I wish only one was needed). And for those who only have one there is not a clear winner as people of different requirements in regards to price, capabilities, and believe it or not looks.
Direct to consumer selling is much easier today than in the past especially if you are willing to sell on Amazon. Since you have the additional products you will want to make sure you engage your customer to have high repeat buyer conversion. This is generally done through both great product but equally or more important - great service!
Also if you anticipate your product being the next big thing in the industry why not get placement in retailers like Costco where customers will expect them to be? Happy to help further strategize on all the possibilities.
As you probably know, what you want to do is going to be tough. To answer your question fully would need a book, however for the purpose of Clarity and your post, if you don't know them already, then here are a few tips.
1. Know, define and understand your audience well, not just their demographics but their behaviour, attitudes, likes, dislikes and what makes them tick. In your case to become the brand of choice in your sector, you need to change their behaviour and for that you really need to know who they are and as much about them as possible.
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2. Be very clear about your brand and create something called a brand positioning statement. This is a single paragraph defining who your brand is for, what needs it serves and what makes you different. Every major brand in the world has one and I'd be happy to help you develop one as it's tougher than it seems.
3. Research your market, this means both quantitive and qualitative research ie facts and opinions, but also the environment you're trading in. Identify your competitors, research how they position themselves, and how you will fit into the market.
4. Customer centricity. Loads to say here, but you should be customer centric in everything you do. Love it or loathe it, that is the core reason that Amazon is as successful as it is. So much so that Jeff Bezos calls Amazon 'customer obsessive'.
5. Set clear time driven objectives, Again if you want help on these, I'd be more than happy to help you.
6. Then you need a strategy. This means planning how you're going to launch your brand and build your market share. It also considers the distribution of your products and what channels you're going to use to market them (Omnichannel Marketing) and your strategy has to be as good as it can be.
7. Then Tactics; Tactics goes into more detail about your planned growth and is essentially what needs to be done. So logistics and marketing, processes and more. I'd recommend considering great SEO, Adwords, social media both organic and paid, Email, content, video and more. You'd need a robust and well planned Omnichannel campaign for this.
8. Measurement; everything you do should be measured and monitored and you'll need daily reports. This is so that you know what's working and what isn't. By knowing these, you can then improve what you're doing continuously.
I could share with you how I've helped many start-ups become multi-million dollar businesses but then that'd be another book needed. if you would like some help on any of this though, you know what to do :)
Stay well and stay safe.
