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Customer Behavior   URGENT - Need Help Fast!  
 
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Should You List Your Lowest Sellers?
Posted By: bduncan* on 2/6/2007 2:49 PM (CST) 250 Points
I've heard of some companies categorizing their top 5 lowest sellers on their website, in addition to listing their highest sellers. I guess the thought is that it a)further justifies what will surely be a discontinued product in the not-so-distant future, b) it boosts sales from fans of these bottom-feeders or c) it's just another way to interact with your customer.

Anyone have experience with this? Pros? Cons? Metrics? Examples?

Thanks,

bd

Posted by: rockyboy2 Member Response
2/6/2007 2:52 PM (CST)
Never Ever list low sellers this will destroy your credabilty, remember your stuff always is the latest up to date best stuff available negative marketing fails trust me no no no
rockyboy2
 
Posted by: W.M.M.A. Member Response
2/6/2007 2:54 PM (CST)
What is the purpose of this action. Would it help someone? Would it hurt someone? Who? Why?

IF you are not pleased w/ bottom 5 performance, it is time for discussions, visits, motivations, and if necessary resignations. But, do not destroy their self-esteem.

That never works for anyone.

Randall
WMMA
 
Posted by: darryl.mayo Member Response
2/6/2007 3:10 PM (CST)
I agree with the previous posts. It will not accomplish anything. There is always going to be a bottom 5. It does not mean that they are not contributing. Are they in the bottom 5 because of lack of effort or maybe their territory is not as "rich" as those in the top 5? They could be at the bottom ranking, and still make their quota. I would grade them on whether they make goal or not, but not where they stand against their peers and even then encourage them to to do better, not repudiate them in public. Once they are discourged it will be harder to coach them and bring up their performance.
 
Posted by: bduncan* Author Response
2/6/2007 3:14 PM (CST)
Great feedback, but let me clarify here:

I'm talking about lowest selling products, not actual sales people.

Sorry on being a bit vague with that one.

So, does this change anyone's answer?
 
Posted by: Papadoc (Steve)* Accepted Answer
2/6/2007 4:59 PM (CST)
The upside to listing your lowest priced products is that it can give someone a reason to look farther, to talk about your company's low price, and it shows that you can be quite competitive. Such moves can be made for a variety of reasons such as to get market share, to get visibility and name recognition (i.e. branding), or to put a competitor on the defensive. Loss leader methodologies also have legitimacy depending upon the situation.

The idea of a loss-leader is also an idea that might fit if people tend to come to your site and purchase more than one thing. If you sell Product A at cost, it benefits you nothing if that's the only thing they buy. If however, they buy it at cost and it lines you up to sell them additional product or where they will come back for some reason, then the loss leader has done its job.

The downside is that if you are in direct competition with another site, it can fuel a price war. If being the lowest is important, be sure you can win and still remain profitable. Otherwise, all you will have done is to diminish your profits.

There's nothing wrong with leading with your lowest price items. Just be sure that it is part of a logical plan that will generate more business and greater profits in the long run.

Supermarkets almost always offer some kind of loss-leader, and it's typically something that people will be out searching for. In the USA in November, selling turkeys at 50 cents per pound doesn't make any money for them. However, because it's the biggest single item for the holiday of Thanksgiving, they know that if they have the best deal, the consumer will often also buy most of their other items at the same time and they recover any loss they might have had.
 
Posted by: E-Marketing* Accepted Answer
2/6/2007 10:12 PM (CST)
Two things to do with your bottom 5:
- Stop selling them! Why list them if no one is going to buy them. You end up wasting your time and money to inventory them and catalogue them.

- Advertise them and liquidate them. If you have them in inventory, get rid of them. List them as the "Top 5 best bargains". Sell them. Then never ever sell them again.

(Okay - some exceptions for seasonal items of course.)
 
Posted by: Marketing-Riot Member Response
2/7/2007 2:02 AM (CST)
I think it depends on what type of products your are talking about.

What type of products are you talking about?

Donna
Marketing Riot
 
Posted by: KathySmithFilms* Accepted Answer
2/7/2007 3:49 AM (CST)
Can you be more specific and give us a sample of a website you are curious about. We would love to see your bio and website.

What you ask about totally depends on the market you are addressing.

Most companies have lesser priced items to draw in new public, enlighten them and upsell them to the bigger items. I bought a $9.00 book at the Apple store which led to $60,000 in sales over a 2 year period, but the service I got behind that $9.00 was worth it. They helped build my business and gave a lot of tech support.

Good luck,
Kathy
 
Posted by: bduncan* Author Response
2/7/2007 9:13 AM (CST)
Steve - thanks for the tips on loss leaders. In this situation, while a price reduction might be part of it, I'm wondering if there's any merit to just communicating which products are the lowest sellers (lowest units sold over a given timeframe) without changing price, etc. I've heard rumors of some companies doing this, and I just want to understand that better.

E-Marketing: thanks, good advice.

Donna: I'm talking about nutritional products (supplements) in a direct sales/network marketing environment.

Kathy, definitely good point on $9 leading to $60,000. What do you think if it's not a low-cost item, just a low seller?

My company is at www.AdvoCare.com. We're looking to make some major upgrades to the shopping functionality, so that's what's prompted my question. Right now, it's not terribly user-friendly at all, but we'll fix that.
 
Posted by: Frank Hurtte Accepted Answer
2/7/2007 10:02 PM (CST)
I would be ware...

I suspect the bottom 5 sellers may be the ones that are already being attacked by the competition. If you list them the competitors will have a field day.

Perhaps an experiement would be to list them as featured items just to see what happens....
 
Posted by: Gunjit Member Response
2/8/2007 10:17 AM (CST)
Hi

Listing the 5 least selling products on your web site is not a very good idea per se because it not only gives your competitors the info about where you are not good, it also tells the consumers that we are not doing well here. This might lead to customers discontinuing with these products since they might lose faith in these products realising that noone else is buying them.

But, there are cases where this might actually be a good idea. Some cases are listed below:

If the products in such a list are mostly newly introduced products, over a period of time with increasing sales they will no longer figure in the least selling products list. This fact can be leveraged by the owners to communicate to the customers that a product that was not doing well initially is now getting increased acceptance and success. Therefore you should purchase it more now.

Another case can be when such a list is visible only to accounts internal to the organisation. This will fuel healthy competition within the teams that are working on different products. Teams would not want to see their products in this list and would therefore work harder to get out of this list and finally get listed on the highest selling products list...

I hope I could give an answer that you were looking for.. Waiting for your feedback...
 


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