Use of experimental non-traditional marketing strategies

-

 

A company's ultimate goal is to be the best at what they do, regardless of the industry. Hence, they go all-in with their resources to ensure that their product does not become obsolete and market it with style.

A majority of companies often adapt to the trending strategies and evolve for exponential sales. What sets a company apart aside from its unique style is the amount of funds allocated for marketing. Despite the evolution of digital marketing, the solid foundation of the product launches heavily depends on traditional marketing means such as direct mail, print media marketing (newspapers & magazines), broadcast, outdoor media or direct selling.

So, it's a surprise when companies go against the usual norm and try something different with almost little to no advertising. What's incredibly surprising is that these tactics worked, and their experiments paved the way to establish a legacy unparalleled to any.

The following list is names of companies we have all desired or at least heard of:

1. ZARA

It's no surprise that this brand tops the list. Zara only spends 0.3% of its sales on advertising, and yet it has established a stronghold in 96 countries with 2,259 stores. The brand relies on technology and automation for customer surveys and analysis. Zara designs its styles based on consumer wants and needs fostering better relations with the target audience. Using the data collected, they produce top-notch pieces in limited supply, creating a heavy demand among customers. This strategy has proved immensely valuable for the brand, with 450+ million sales and not a dime spent on extravagant marketing.

Source: https://www.inventiva.co.in/


2. KRISPY KREME

Who doesn't love sugary treats? With this idea in mind, the brand pays paramount attention to customer satisfaction and relies heavily on word of mouth for marketing. The company trains employees to market the company by providing excellent customer service as its primary marketing tool. Krispy Kreme is also involved in local community outreach programs, where it donates doughnuts to raise funds for community initiatives and markets its products. An interesting fact to note about the company designs its stores such that customers can view the making of doughnuts as a marketing strategy. Although in 2006, the brand resorted to television and radio advertisements, a majority of sales and growth is due to word of mouth. It has over 7.8 million followers on Facebook. With these strategies implemented, Krispy Kreme has successfully established 1400 stores.

Source: https://www.swiggy.com/

Source: https://www.savannahnow.com/

3. TRADER JOE'S

Trader Joe's is a national chain of neighbourhood grocery stores. It's astounding to know that this brand has zero social media presence. The sure means to market the brand is "The Fearless Flyer" - a poster and an online newsletter with a short brief about the company along with discounts. Their website is user friendly, with the themes of aesthetic and comfort in mind. What's unique about their store is that they don't focus on "branded items"- products that a store usually stocks with to promote sales, but instead choose to supply unique products along with daily essentials under their label. Trader Joe's has an exceptional scheme to win the hearts of its customers - they don't have coupons/ loyalty programs/ membership cards allowing an equal stand for all customers to have access to the best prices on the best products daily. Trader Joe's continues expanding to other locations sticking to the strategy that has worked out well - $ 13.7 Billion in net sales and stores established in 530 venues.

Source: https://www.traderjoes.com/home

4. SRIRACHA 

Established in 1983, Sriracha is a renowned brand that sells hot chilli sauce with a distinct taste. The brand sells more than 20 million bottles annually with no funds allocated for sales or advertisements. According to CEO David Tran, the secret lies with their unwavering principle- to never compromise the quality and authenticity of sauce and the use of convenient plastic tubes. Another prominent feature of their strategy is that the brand first circulated their product among Asian chefs boosting culture and strengthening their base before expanding to other locations worldwide. 

Sriracha continues to grow with $150 Million in revenue per year and remains a top contender in the hot sauce industry.

Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

The Bottom Line

These companies have defied traditional marketing approaches and established their legacy by effectively reducing costs on marketing and reallocating the same resources towards expansion and product improvement. However, these companies need to ensure maximum efficiency in other aspects such as quality, customer service and consistency, for minimum efforts and reliance on word of mouth to work.

                                                                                                              - S Shwetha Iyer

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is halloween trick or treating the economy?

-
Image
  Before we dive into the Halloween economy, let's track back to its history  The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honour all saints. Soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. Even though Halloween is just a single day, as a holiday it is nonetheless responsible for a great deal of consumer spending on everything from costumes and makeup to candy and party supplies to (of course) pumpkins. Based on the Keynesian school of economic thought, major spending holidays can have significant and positive short-term benefits for the economy by encouraging extra purchases that might not otherwise occur. Americans spent a record $10.1 billion on Halloween, the second-biggest retail event of the year. Source: https://www.freepik.com/ It could be argued that the state of the economy affects th
Read more

Organic marketing vs paid marketing

-
Image
 The term ' Digital Marketing' was first used in the 1990s. Since then, the concept has grown stupendously intertwined with rapid technological innovation and development. Companies heavily rely on digital marketing to globalize their brand and products. It is a well-known fact that digital marketing is in a constant state of flux , and so, companies evolve to keep up with the latest trends. A majority of companies often switch between the two primary branches of digital marketing - organic marketing and paid marketing. The question is - which one is better for effective utilisation of resources and ensuring maximum output. Source: www.yourlistingexpert.com Organic marketing also known as inbound marketing, primarily refers to any form of digital marketing that does not include paid advertisements. The goal is to connect with the consumers so that the brand or product remains their first preference. It is the best marketing strategy to build a long-lasting brand and establish
Read more

Hype Marketing

-
Image
Hype  is defined as "extravagant or intensive publicity or promotion". Research has shown for some products, consumers have an overwhelming preference for products with limited supply. Now we know what supply and demand is right? So, what a regular brand does is if there is more demand then they reciprocate with more supply but in this case, you do the opposite. Less supply results in more demand and that builds the hype, as long as you don’t lose customers.  Now I would like to introduce you to the term “ conspicuous consumption”. The dictionary defines the above term as expenditure on or consumption of luxuries on a lavish scale in an attempt to enhance one's prestige or in other words, buy costly stuff to rub it on your friend’s face. This term was coined by Thorstein Veblen and products that follow this theory (Veblen theory) are called Veblen goods. Now usually a less supply results in losing your loyal customers to other brands but this doesn’t apply to Veblen goo
Read more