The VIth Sense - You Can't Sell Tomatoes at the Shoe Store
We've had several conversations lately with organizations that want to change the way they sell their product. That's a great idea in theory as one can save buckets of money with an online model. The dilemma with these specific companies is that they want to change the way they sell,
but aren't considering how their prospects buy. And none of them are large enough to drastically influence that.
As we progress further into the digital world, it is important to use the tools that we have, not only to our advantage, but to their advantage as well. Just because Amazon can sell a variety of consumer products online, doesn't mean that a business services firm can. If that's not how people shop for these particular business services, then an online model can, at best, support an offline one. Sure, you can use digital tools to support your marketing, but that doesn't mean that you can change the way people buy just because that's how you want to sell. It took Amazon years and billions in losses to finally get enough people to shop online for consumables. So, use the tools at hand to support your offering. Just make sure your offer is where the shopper is.
