Beverages go side by side with every meal and snack and are a hugely important part of all our lives. While demand is consistent and ever-growing especially as people crave new and exciting flavors and formulas, it is also a saturated market that is highly competitive.
Newer or smaller beverage companies struggle to get market share in the same industry where older beverage companies have widened their product portfolio and expanded marketing techniques. Here are some effective tips to drive sales for your beverage business and make it into a market leader.
Let The Quality Speak For Itself
The first step in driving sales for any product is focusing on the quality. If the quality of ingredients, processing and safe packaging is not there, no amount of marketing campaigns or hacks are going to result in long-term interest in the product. Consult food production experts to improve production and sourcing of ingredients and look for ways to follow all food preparation laws for hygienic processing.
Even packaging alone is a major contributor to whether your customer base will increase or sustain itself or not as a product that looks cheap is unlikely to inspire trust. It may seem obvious that people prefer a low price point with consumer goods especially related to food and drink but if the price is too low, it can actually put customer off, since they begin to question the quality of the ingredients.
Price your product sensibly and invest in beautiful, quality and sturdy packaging.
Price In Relation To Similar Beverages
Pricing is instrumental in driving sales and building customer trust. If other beverages on the market especially ones from established companies cost a lot less than your beverage, it will be hard for your product to make its mark. Conduct market research and price your beverage well so that it sparks interest and is affordable without looking overly cheap or low-value.
Pricing also indicates how widely it can be sold in terms of location and outlets and smaller businesses start online selling particularly in the case of specialty products. If your beverage is an artisanal product with a unique selling point, you can set the price higher as is the case with certain wines and juices.
The Right Pictures
The world today and the average customer is very visual. Invest in a good food photographer for your beverage product so you have high quality, aesthetic photos you can use in your marketing. These images will tell a story especially with the right background and editing and you will be able to market your product as high-value, driving sales through the roof.
You can use the images in a multitude of ways from advertisements to other promotional materials. High quality images fare well on brochures and billboards as well as on social media and other digital marketing avenues.
Social media marketing, conventional physical marketing, and digital marketing all drive sales and bring attention to the product, focusing in particular on the target demographic and an understanding of their lifestyle demands. If the beverage is positioned in the consumer’s mind as something that enhances any aspect of their lifestyle, they are more likely to gravitate towards it. Product videos with aesthetic editing have become the norm for food and drink products and they are effective in influencing younger people to buy them.
Promotional Deals & Ease of Purchase
Depending on which stage your business is in, you will always need to maintain and increase sales in order to keep up with the demands of inflation and the cost of out-marketing competitors. Other than choosing an appropriate price, give regular promotional deals for repeat customers especially if you are a smaller business or exclusively operating online. Discounts, redeemable bonus points and other promotional offers can encourage consumers particularly very young and very old ones, to repeatedly purchase your beverage.
Expanding product portfolio is a vital part of business growth so make sure you have promotional offers on new products to generate excitement and interest. Promote the idea of a beverage or two of yours being a ‘bestseller.’ In marketing language, the word ‘bestseller’ has a lot of leverage since it generates interest and creates trust. Newer customers are always going to be more comfortable purchasing a product they know numerous others have bought and loved. For this reason, the bestseller marketing ploy is used popularly for many different kinds of products.
Pay attention to how easy it is for marketing to reach your target customers and the ease with which they can purchase your beverage. Is it widely available in stores and online? Can people pay with ease by card or automate orders if they like the beverage and want to stock up? The easier the product is to locate and purchase, the more sales will inevitably result. Initially for a medium sized business it can be quite an investment to stock the beverage widely in terms of geography within the same country or internationally. For larger more established companies the cost may even out due to a higher sales volume.
Variations
Build an enviable beverage menu or product selection with different beverages to suit each taste palate. No one beverage will be loved by everyone so introduce different options in both hot and cold varieties to increase sales and the popularity of your product. Some beverage companies had customizable options so that consumers can tailor their beverage as they order it from an outlet or place an order online. Certain means such as using deoxygenated water for beverage preparation and processing can enhance the flavor considerably as oxygen interferes with other molecules in the beverage causing it to go stale faster.
Making sure your drinks are take-away friendly and travel-friendly are major selling points. That would make them appealing to scores of people on the go because they will get quality, taste and convenience all rolled into one. Most working people visit coffee shops due to the convenience of simply taking a cup to go, if you can add that factor for your beverage business, it will definitely boost sales.
A Dream Team
Your marketing and sales team are going to be the real heroes when it comes to driving sales. Their ability to create innovative and exciting campaigns will determine business growth and sales volume. If your beverage business has its own outlets, consider training staff in the values and protocols that will bring value to your company. Quality customer service is another factor that drives high sales and encourages customer retention.
Conclusion
Gone are the days in which only quality sufficed to sell products well especially in terms of food and drink. In today’s competitive world and overly saturated markets in which product differentiation is fast becoming a myth, it can be challenging to make your business stand out.
A brand concept and story are needed to attract people and they need to believe that the beverage or beverages in question are not only drinks but experiences that complement their lifestyle and mindset. Marketing has to be dynamic and ever-evolving in order to consistently improve and grow sales. With the help of the above mentioned tips, your beverage business can sky-rocket with a customer-friendly approach.
