Monitoring technology allows a small business to sell a large product catalog as of the largest businesses without the need to invest in stock.
80% of start-up businesses close after five years. Increased transparency about the product, the quality and, in short, the “user experience” offered is partly to blame. This transparency has come hand in hand with technology that allows anyone with Internet access to learn about the reputation of a business through online reviews. Specialization and the appropriate use of technological tools allow a business to differentiate itself and stand out from the rest.
“Shoemaker, to your shoes”. Few sayings sum up so well the fact that you must know what you are doing. But let’s go a step further. Let’s assume that there is a previous market study, and that the owner of the new business has the knowledge to carry it out.
What are the keys to success?
Nowadays there is an excess of supply, and the customer is hardly loyal to brands, he does not marry anyone. Customer service, closeness and empathy will ensure that the business is on the right track. Now, in terms of positioning and promotion, are we different? Do we give any added value to our product? Let’s take a practical example: a computer consumables store. In these times of oversupply where manufacturers multiply without clear differences in their products (HP, Epson, Canon, etc.), what will be the differential aspect of the store?
One goes to buy a cartridge, and the store either has it or not. If they have it, they buy it, and we’ll see them come back. The main reason to buy it in that store is the availability; second is the proximity and third is the price. The store owner swims against the tide. We mean that availability being the fundamental aspect, if he takes a classic approach in which availability = stock, the entrepreneur will make a whole series of calculations in which, whatever he decides, he always loses.
Since having a stock has a cost, the retailer cannot have everything and limits the brands: “I sell this one very little, so I will remove it”, “this other one, which I sell a lot of, I will remove it too because I am fed up with the manufacturer selling directly to the end consumer and replacing the consumables, so I seldom sell twice to the same customer”; “this manufacturer’s consumables are very expensive, I am not interested”.
It is clear that “having everything” is not easy and some logical measures must be taken. But the above examples show us a common way of thinking that, unfortunately, leads to the ruin of the business. It is not necessary to limit the offer “just because”; it is necessary to look for alternative ways that allow us to keep it and to give the added value to the product to differentiate us from the others. The entrepreneur must be aware of the technology available in the market and use it to their advantage. They should stop seeing technology as a luxurious expense and see it as something necessary to protect their business and/or make it grow.
It is quite common to hear about the Internet of Things and monitoring. Continuing with the earlier example, what if the entrepreneur could know in advance what the printer is going to need? With this information, could one not have an infinite catalog of products without having to keep a stock? How many customers could one build customer loyalty with? And how many new customers could one then acquire?
In line with the same example, the free Nubeprint app monitors printers and identifies what is going to be needed up to 90 days in advance. Now imagine a service based on the ability of a computer consumables retailer to monitor its customers’ printers. Let’s imagine an automatic consumables replenishment service that is activated the moment the end customer installs the app on his or her cell phone. From that moment on, the customer does not have to worry about how much ink or toner their printer has, because the store takes care of replacing the cartridges at the right time. Wouldn’t the store be providing an added and differential value? What better way to build customer loyalty, combined with the proximity and closeness that the big brands do not provide!
Fuente: expansión.com, Nubeprint
