Small Business Column: Marketing premium products
Last week I had a great interview with Jerry O’Sullivan from the Dingle Brewing Company. The company produces Crean’s Lager at its brewery in Dingle, Co Kerry. Unlike most other Irish breweries, it produces and sells only one product, the lager.
Jerry said that this was for two reasons. They wanted a consistent product that had the same taste all the time.
The other was that they were marketing it as a premium product, which means that it was exclusive. Consistency fed the premium and for them to break the US and UK markets, both of which are highly competitive, they needed something that people would accept as a premium product.
So here is a look at selling premium products and some of the things to keep in mind when doing so:
Let people know the history of the company. From your humble beginnings to where you are now, customers buy into where you’ve come from. If you’re selling something as ‘craft’ it has to come with a history. Too often businesses tuck their history away in the ‘about’ page of their website or a small section on the label.
Do your research and find the right place, with the right fit, for your product. Hanna Andersson is one of the richest stores in the in the US, based upon its customers. It produces organic-based clothing for children. It’s a premium product that focuses on its target market with unique precision. The medium income of people in the areas in which the company situates its stores is just above the €65,000 mark. A premium product being sold to a premium local. Like the old saying goes ‘go where your customers are’.
Mla in Galway City sells real leather goods from its store on Mainguard Street. The company sources the best materials and the best makers to bring its customers a top-quality product. Leather has a rare quality. It grows in character as it gets older. The prices match the niche of the area in which they provide goods to customers, but value is incomparable.
Pat Delaney from Mla said many products in the space aren’t even real leather and yet still have the price tag to match what they have in store. Giving people value for money, rather than just a premium price tag will bring new customers and, more importantly, trust in your brand. This also means keeping your price premium.
If you’re asking people to pay a premium price you need to back it up with a premium service. Before they buy the product and afterwards. That means keeping your staff informed of the product and making sure they understand everything behind it.
Getting personal with customers, and vice versa, is important. Sales and service centre on the individual been treated as such, not as a customer but as a person. On the flip side, you are not a faceless business. Keoghs Crisps make a premium crisp product to sell onto the market. On the back of their crisp packets you’ll be able to see the name of the person who made the packet in your hand. I don’t know who Mike is, but I know he’s not a machine.
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