---
title: "Not Selling: Through 12 Phenomena, Here Are 16 Solutions"
description: "When products don't sell at the terminal, it simply means 'God doesn't pay.' Why doesn't God pay, or why does he pay someone else instead of buying your product? Our research found that products are likely to fail to sell under the following 12 circumstances: 1. Customers are 'captured' by competitors. 2. Your brand is not in the customer's consideration set. 3. Customers don't see your product. 4. Customers think your product can't meet their needs. 5. Customers think your product has defects. 6. Customers think your product's price is not worth it or too low."
author: "郭旭"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2015-07-18"
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---

# Not Selling: Through 12 Phenomena, Here Are 16 Solutions

> When products don't sell at the terminal, it simply means 'God doesn't pay.' Why doesn't God pay, or why does he pay someone else instead of buying your product? Our research found that products are likely to fail to sell under the following 12 circumstances: 1. Customers are 'captured' by competitors. 2. Your brand is not in the customer's consideration set. 3. Customers don't see your product. 4. Customers think your product can't meet their needs. 5. Customers think your product has defects. 6. Customers think your product's price is not worth it or too low.

When products don't sell at the terminal, it simply means 'God doesn't pay.' Why doesn't God pay, or why does he pay someone else instead of buying your product?
Our research found that under the following 12 circumstances, products are likely to fail to sell:
1. Customers are 'captured' by competitors.
2. Your brand is not in the customer's consideration set.
3. Customers don't see your product.
4. Customers think your product can't meet their needs.
5. Customers think your product has defects.
6. Customers think your product's price is not worth it or too low.
7. Customers don't like your product's packaging or style.
8. Customers think your product is a generic brand.
9. Customers think your product is outdated.
10. Customers see that your product is nearing its expiration date.
11. Customers think your promotional activities are not attractive.
12. Customers think your promotional activities are not credible.
To solve the above problems, we need to see through the phenomena to the essence and find solutions. We have classified and studied the 'phenomena' and 'products' that don't sell at the terminal, and summarized the following solutions:
I. 10 Types of Unsold Phenomena and Solutions
1. Few people come to buy this product, occasionally selling a little
Solution: Review the correspondence between the product and the needs of the target consumer group. If the correspondence is high, it indicates that consumers have insufficient awareness of the product, so strengthen terminal promotion by adding sales guides, stimulating the enthusiasm of small retailers, etc.; if the correspondence is low, it indicates that the product lacks appeal to consumers, so enhance its correspondence by lowering prices or adopting consumer promotions to promote impulsive purchases.
2. Slow product turnover, those who bought it don't come back
Solution: First, expand the new consumer base to increase the initial purchase rate; second, find out the reasons for slow turnover. If the quality is poor, improve product quality; if the packaging is poor, change the packaging; if the price is too high, lower the price. If the company cannot improve on the above reasons, finally consider eliminating the product.
3. The product simply doesn't sell at the terminal, and the market demands returns
Solution: This phenomenon indicates that the product cannot meet consumer needs. First, select a specific region and concentrate on 'clearance sales'; second, 'recall' products that are difficult to handle in some markets back to the company.
4. New products entering the market, new market development, or competitors using short-term strong promotional suppression activities, etc., causing temporary unsold phenomena
Solution: This type of phenomenon is a normal unsold phenomenon. Marketing personnel should not be too impatient, so as to avoid damaging the product's brand image and life cycle by using promotional methods such as special prices, buy-one-get-one-free, and other vicious competition methods like 'closely following competitors and perishing together.'
5. The product has a long-term non-temporary unsold phenomenon
Solution: Systematically check the product's core competitiveness, sales driving force, and brand pulling force, find the weak links of each force, and comprehensively adjust and improve them.
6. The product doesn't sell in all markets
Solution: This phenomenon mostly indicates that the product itself has major problems. Lock down the region and concentrate on digesting the existing channel inventory products.
7. The product doesn't sell in some regional markets
Solution: Review the differences between the product and the consumption habits of consumers in the region. If the product does not adapt to local consumption habits, temporarily withdraw from the region; if the product adapts to local consumption habits, investigate the promotion methods and sales work in the region, and adjust and improve them.
8. The product doesn't sell in individual markets
Solution: This type of phenomenon is mainly due to insufficient sales driving force in the market. Therefore, review the work of sales representatives and distributors, introduce advanced experience and promotion methods from other markets, and adjust personnel or distributors if necessary.
9. The product doesn't sell at terminals in different channels within the same market
Solution: Different channels cover different consumer group characteristics, and the same product may not be suitable for different channels within the same market. First, reposition and classify the product's sales channels; second, the promotion methods for different channels should be different.
10. The product doesn't sell at terminals in different areas within the same market
Solution: These areas are mostly weak areas for the company in that market. The reason for the unsold phenomenon in these areas is not the product, but mainly the combination of push and pull forces and the operation rhythm. It is necessary to analyze the promotion difficulties in these areas one by one, and combine the competitive landscape, competitor characteristics, consumption characteristics, channel characteristics, etc., to formulate special promotion plans for the area.
II. 6 Types of Unsold Products and Solutions
1. New products don't sell
Case: A food company organized international first-class technical experts and domestic first-class marketing consultants to develop a high-end new product. After the product concept was determined, the product project leader believed that it was '20% successful and 80% failed,' but most people thought it was successful, and the product was eventually awarded the '2004 Product Innovation Award.' However, after the product was launched, it didn't sell at the terminal, confirming the original project leader's judgment. After losing millions of yuan in R&D and material costs, the company had to stop promoting the product.
Solution: First, investigate the correspondence between category positioning, brand personality, product function, product form, product price, product packaging, etc., and the needs of target consumers, and diagnose whether it is a temporary normal unsold phenomenon or a non-temporary abnormal unsold phenomenon. If it is the former, just operate according to the established promotion plan; if it is the latter, first adjust the price and promotion methods of the existing product, second reposition and improve the product, and if necessary, stop promoting the new product.
2. Old products don't sell
Case: A leading puffed food company's main product had been selling well for 10 years without even changing its packaging. Although its quality was still excellent, the product became increasingly unpopular in the terminal market.
Solution: The main reason for the unsold phenomenon is that the product is in the decline stage. In addition to low channel profits and poor promotion enthusiasm, consumers have also lost interest in the product. The solution is to replace the old product with a new product, even if the new product is 'new bottle with old wine' or 'change the soup but not the medicine,' it may solve the problem of old products not selling.
3. Well-known products don't sell
Case: During the SARS period, Yake V9 leveraged people's short-term panic and desire for health during the 'SARS' period, launched the new concept of 'vitamin candy,' and at the same time launched star-endorsed advertisements on CCTV with great intensity, rapidly increasing product awareness and significantly increasing channel orders. After the 'SARS' period, calm consumers no longer felt the freshness and cleverness of 'Yake V9,' so the phenomenon of well-known products not selling became increasingly obvious in some markets.
Solution: Many products' awareness is quickly established through event marketing or strong media communication. For such products, the most important method is to continuously update and enrich the product line, so that the company can quickly transition from the 'well-known product' stage to the 'well-known brand' stage.
4. Unknown products don't sell
Solution: Unknown products are not necessarily bad products; well-known products all started as unknown products. Unknown products should first find a marketing model that, under the condition of product anonymity, leverages market and external resources to achieve successful product sales.
5. Price-increased products don't sell
Solution: Product price increases should occur under two circumstances: first, when the industry trend dictates it; second, when the company has the ability to lead the market. Under these two circumstances, the unsold phenomenon of price-increased products is temporary and normal. Outside of the above circumstances, companies should try to maintain price stability, and even if they increase prices, they should only 'increase nominally but not actually.'
6. Growth products don't sell
Solution: Growth products may experience unsold phenomena in the short term due to strong suppression by competitors. At this time, growth products should be good at 'avoiding the strong and attacking the weak' and 'leveraging force,' rather than 'fighting hard,' and thus find their own advantages and development space in sales promotion methods.
Case: A company launched a city product with extremely strong growth momentum. In response to this growth product, the industry leader adopted a series of promotional suppression and terminal interception activities, causing the growth product to fail to sell in A and B class terminals. The company quickly adjusted its channel focus, specializing in C and D class stores, and ultimately achieved success.
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