From the Consumer's Perspective, Why Isn't Your Product Selling?

Product sell-through is a multifaceted issue involving many layers that need comprehensive attention. In terms of competitive landscape, to beat competitors and secure a market position, three competitive forces must be emphasized: product competitiveness, channel competitiveness, and consumer competitiveness. Understanding Consumer Purchasing Behavior from the Fogg Behavior Model The Fogg Behavior Model posits that human behavior is composed of three elements: motivation, ability, and triggers. Behavior occurs only when all three are satisfied simultaneously. Simplified into an equation: B=MAT, where B is Behavior, M is Motivation, A is Ability, and T is Triggers. For a behavior to occur, the actor needs the motivation to perform it and the ability to do so; if they have sufficient motivation and ability, they will act when induced/triggered. Let's analyze a case: seeing a multi-point display of Zilin vinegar in a supermarket. This is a typical category-associated display. Do you think the sales of this vinegar will be good? First, to be able to do this, it already scores 80 points; category association will definitely promote product sell-through. However, there is room for improvement. Let's analyze with the Fogg Behavior Model: Consumer Purchase Behavior = Consumer Purchase Motivation * Consumer Purchase Ability * Consumer Trigger 1. Consumer Purchase Motivation: Buying dumplings and dipping them in vinegar is a Chinese consumption habit, fitting the consumption scenario and easily forming category association. Thus, placing vinegar next to dumplings easily creates purchase motivation. 2. Consumer Purchase Ability: Purchase ability does not mean whether consumers can afford vinegar, but rather that in most consumers' minds, the main item is dumplings, and vinegar is a condiment for dipping, with a primary-secondary distinction. That is, the price of vinegar should not be higher than that of dumplings, or ideally, the price of vinegar should be about one-third of the dumplings' price. This is the purchase ability ordinary people are willing to pay. Here, there is a small issue with the multi-point display: In the first picture, the vinegar price is significantly higher than in the second, but the dumpling price in the first picture is 50% of that in the second (first picture dumplings price 25, second picture dumplings price 52). Therefore, it is recommended to change the positions of different-priced vinegars to match consumers' purchase ability. 3. Consumer Trigger: From the consumer's perspective, they are surrounded by various advertisements daily, so much information is subjectively blocked, forming an "information cocoon." If nothing catches their eye, buying dumplings is just buying dumplings, and nothing else is noticed. So, how to trigger consumer purchase? A suggestion: place an explosive tag next to it, noting: "Dumplings are delicious, don't forget to buy vinegar." This serves as a reminder and will better trigger consumer purchase behavior. Summary: Regarding sell-through, marketing teams should not view consumers from the brand's perspective; they should observe the market and consumer purchasing behavior from the consumer's perspective. In today's fiercely competitive market, details often determine success or failure in contests among experts. It is necessary for marketing teams to learn some theoretical models. Sell-through requires products to meet changing consumer needs in a timely manner The key to competition in the FMCG industry is to continuously explore and meet ever-changing consumer needs through the integration of product, brand, channel, and supply chain resources. Only by meeting consumer needs can products sell through. Clearly, product ranks first, and good products come from deep consumer insight. I. First, understand several misconceptions about product insight 1. Insight is not observation: Be consumer-oriented; do not think for the consumer; observe consumers, restore their life scenarios and purchase paths; self-examine rather than self-justify; understand that consumers are not decision-makers, and consumer conclusions are not insights. What we need more is consumers' true descriptions to gain insight into their implicit needs. In short, understand facts about consumers without expressing your own opinions based on those facts. 2. Selling point is not buying point; function is not benefit: This is a common mistake made by many FMCG manufacturers and distributors. They boast about their product's quality, technology, craftsmanship, brand, etc., all in one sentence: no matter how good, it is not as good as the consumer's self-perception that "it is good for me." Secondly, do not say what my product can do; guide consumers to realize what they can do with my product; what direct help it can bring to customers. Not only should customers benefit, but also solve their problems specifically. Customers do not buy products; they pursue a better self. If you fail to see this, all marketing is self-congratulation, and product sell-through is a fantasy. 3. Insight is based on scenario needs: Surface needs are not necessarily real needs. For example, I bought a bottle of water. What need is this based on? Am I thirsty? Did I see a supermarket promotion? Did I see a beautiful mineral water bottle? Did others have one and I wanted one too? Under different needs, I have different purchase behaviors, so the scenario determines my purchase. At this point, the way to achieve insight is to truly restore the consumption scenario and purchase path, and empathize. II. Several elements of product insight 1. Seven elements of consumer research: 1 Consumer product needs: what is needed, the state of need, product price, purchase method and location, etc.; 2 Consumer habits: not easily changed, willing to try new things; 3 Consumer persona: gender, age, income, education, personality, values, family structure, and family role; 4 Consumer awareness of product and brand: function, emotion, brand, spokesperson, appearance, price, reviews, service, etc., and the purchase order & habits within awareness; the reason, history, and process of habit formation; 5 Consumer concerns about the product: where, when, and in what occasions it is used; 6 Consumer feelings when using the product: how to express these feelings? Post on Moments? Share with friends? 7 Interaction influence among consumers: are non-users influenced by users? What is the influence on other consumers after use? 2. Five elements of product demand insight: 1 Based on "facts": an objective existence, not fabricated or "made up" by the brand, otherwise what you dig out is a "pseudo-demand"; 2 People-oriented, based on "human nature": insight is not about understanding consumers' "functional" needs for the product, but about in-depth analysis and exploration of the target customer group's human nature, emotions, psychology, and lifestyle. Only insights based on "people" can truly touch people; consumers are "people" not "concepts"; 3 Through in-depth communication, dig out what consumers "really" think; 4 Brand and product have high relevance: you may know your target customers inside out, but if your insight lacks relevance to the brand/product, everything is zero; 5 "Fresh" and "unique": find "facts" that others have ignored or never thought of, giving a refreshing feeling; an insight recognized by most people is not a good insight. Summary: "Profitably satisfying consumer needs" is the most concise definition of marketing by Philip Kotler, the father of modern marketing, in his book "Marketing Management." From this, we can see that the core of consumer insight is to gain insight into "consumer needs." The definition of a product should also be a "tool" that satisfies consumers' needs in different scenarios, and the definition of sell-through should be that this "tool" is very "handy" for consumers. From the Consumer's Perspective: Why Isn't Your Product Selling? Returning to the title, how should this question be answered? I think it should be answered from two levels: product and marketing. 1. Product level: Products that cannot continuously explore and meet changing consumer needs will not sell through. This requires brands to deeply understand consumers and identify "real needs."

a. Meet consumers' direct needs for the product: what consumers lack in "ideal vs. reality," such as function, quality, appearance, time-saving, price, service, etc.; b. Meet possible associated needs between consumers and the product: physiological, safety, social, respect, self-actualization, universal truth, etc. c. Be clear: "pseudo-demands" will never solve sell-through problems! 2. Marketing level: The era of "good wine needs no bush" is long over. Product sell-through requires marketing support. Here are a few marketing issues that need to be addressed: a. Multi-channel reach to consumers: Who are consumers? Through which channels can they be effectively reached? b. Build scenarios for consumers to use the product, associating with specific scenarios (sales scenarios & consumption scenarios) to inspire consumer needs, such as brand display, category display, associated display, etc.; c. Attract consumer attention: WeChat, Weibo, Douyin, Kuaishou, Xiaohongshu, Bilibili, programmatic buying, elevators, subways, buses, and other media, as well as fancy displays in offline physical stores, etc.; d. Consumer psychological weaknesses: mainly use the left-digit effect (e.g., products in supermarkets are priced at 9.9 yuan instead of 10 yuan), price anchoring (e.g., through decoy products to enhance the cost-effectiveness of profit products), proportion bias (e.g., expensive items in supermarkets are labeled "direct discount of 100 yuan," while cheap items are labeled "50% off promotion"), herd mentality, love me love my dog, and other consumer weaknesses to tempt consumers into impulse purchases; e. Consumer state: Is there a current need? Are habits easy to change? Are they comparing? Like Nongfu Spring's Oriental Leaf: in 2011, the demand for sugar-free tea was small, but as people's health awareness increases, the habit of drinking sugary tea will change, requiring continuous guidance and education of consumers. Recommended Reading