Distinguish Yourself from Your Suppliers

According to the latest PwC survey of online shoppers, your store may have an unrecognized competitor—the manufacturers of items you sell. About 52% of the U.S. online shoppers surveyed said they buy directly from brand sites. Across the eleven countries (Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey, the U.K., and the U.S.) in which the 11,067 consumers were surveyed, the figure was 35%.
     The top reasons given by the consumers were “lower price” and “full range or more choices.” Those present challenging comparison points for small to midsize store-based retailers. It may not be as bad as it looks at first glance, however. Respondents who said they buy directly from brand sites aren’t saying they do most of their buying there, just that they do at least some of their buying that way. Another important finding in the PwC project is that there’s no evidence online retailing is hugely cannibalizing sales in other channels.
     Still, there’s a threat to maximizing your profitability arising from manufacturers’ sites. What distinctive advantages will you highlight to your target audiences to head off the threat?

• In the PwC survey, fully 30% of respondents said a reason they buy from a manufacturer’s site is all they needed was one brand. Researchers at University of Minnesota found that when a customer purchases an item carrying a specific brand name, the customer becomes more likely to prefer the same brand name when going on to select an accompanying item. But many of your shoppers may be better served by your expertise in combining items from across the brands you carry. Demonstrate this to your customers. 
• Show off your house brands. What does the house brand offer that the national name brand does not? Better price? Higher quality? When items carry the same brand name across product categories—such as a bath soap and a shampoo—you’d like to strengthen the brand image by having the same package design. Using almost identical package designs is common with private label house brands, where a consumer could be looking at tables and tacos during one shopping trip. Overall, employing a similar package design to build brand image is a good idea from a shopper psychology perspective. Mere familiarity brings credibility. 
• The PwC report suggests you offer better satisfaction assurances than the manufacturer does. Being able to resolve any problems face-to-face locally is a selling point. 

Click below for more: 
Consider Matching Brand Effects 
Build House Brand Equity with Distinction