Last updated on September 22nd, 2017 at 11:01 pm

Not every product is an easy sell.  Sure, there are things that everyone likes and enjoys buying, like chocolate for example, which don’t require much embellishment to sell.  But there are certain items and products which require a bit more effort and creativity.   That’s the point of an article on 5 Blogs Before Lunch that discusses the process of selling difficult or unpopular brands.   According to the author, the key is “that creativity and understanding the customer’s perspective are important when trying to sell unpopular products.”

We’ve discussed the concept of the importance of putting the customer’s perspective before your own previously, but it is never more important than when you are dealing with products or services that are not popular or not enjoyable for the customer to purchase.

One example we’ve discussed previously is insurance marketing.   No one really likes to purchase insurance.  At best, until you actually need it, insurance is a necessary evil.  So insurance companies are faced with the problem of selling an unpopular albeit necessary product to their customers.  How they approach it is to focus on the necessity of the product and what it does for you when you do need it.   They portray it not as a burden or an item you pay for even when you don’t need it, but rather as security blanket provided by an insurance company that cares about your welfare.

Another example is the example which the 5 Blogs article mentions, selling Hummers with their awful gas mileage to a society that is overwhelmed by rising gas prices.  So how does Hummer overcome this issue?  By essentially ignoring it and focusing on what the brand does bring to the table.  For example, the first image on the site is a Hummer blasting its way through a mountain stream.   This motif of the Hummer as an outdoors, all terrain vehicle is repeated on nearly every page of the site.  So what it says without saying anything is that the Hummer is a special vehicle for a special purpose, conquering the outdoors.    Instead of trying for an audience it cannot reach, it focuses on the audience it can.

This all spirals back to the issue of knowing your customers.  If you can understand what the customer wants, you can give it to them.  Even if your product is not one that is easily likable on the surface, you can find those things that would appeal to a customer and then emphasize them in your advertising.   Once you do that, you’re well on your way to selling the product to your customers.

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