This is the final installment in my Marketing Mix Series: P is for Place. Place refers to where you will sell your product, as well as the distribution system used to get it there. For most products, the persons involved are the manufacturer, the wholesaler, and the retailer. The primary places (or methods) to sell your product are:
- Brick-and-mortar shops. Retail business with store fronts...in other words, a physical structure (made with "brick and mortar"). You physically walk into this type of shop to buy products.
- Online retailers. Businesses who operate solely from a website. There is no store front. Sometimes these businesses warehouse products and ship directly from their warehouse to the end consumer. However, they also may drop-ship items...which means they relay the order to the manufacturer, and the manufacturer ships the order to the end consumer. A benefit of this business model is the online retailer has much less overhead in that they do not need to own a warehouse, or buy lots of product inventory.
- Distributors and wholesalers. A wholesaler buys product in bulk from a manufacturer for a discount. Sams' Club and Costco are great examples to which most of us can relate. They buy wholesale, then the consumer buys from them. A distributor buys goods from a wholesaler or manufacturer, then distributes them to retailers, or to smaller distributors. A distributor is akin to a middle man, helping to get the product from point A to point B.
Once you've perfected your product, you must determine in which venue you will sell your product. For moms creating handmade products from home, their typical options are online marketplaces (i.e. Etsy, Artfire, etc.), via a Facebook business page, via a personal website or blog, or through a brick-and-mortar shop. The online options are much easier to set-up on one's own. However, there are SEO (search engine optimization) and keyword strategies that must be taken into consideration. The brick-and-mortar option may seem more intimidating and stressful at the outset, as it would involve research, marketing, cold-calling, or emailing to potential shop buyers. Once you have evaluated your small business goals and your cost structure, if you consider trying to sell your items wholesale to brick-and-mortars, check out
Sourcing Handmade to assist you in this process. Also, refer to my previous posts in this series
P is for Promotion,
P is for Price,
P is for Product, and
The 4 P's of Marketing.
I'd love to hear any advice, comments, or lessons you've learned while determining the right place to sell your product.
1 comment:
The four "P"-s that lay the basis of the modern marketing are really essential for the development of any successful campaign. I agree that place and placement of the product plays one of the most important roles in the marketing mix.
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