How to sell a window without parsing or about the importance of positioning before developing the site
Can a new player enter and survive in a saturated, highly competitive market? Yes, you just need to go beyond the current framework. I am Ruslan Kokin, UX-designer in the UXhot company, I will share the story about the importance of positioning on the example of the site of plastic windows.
When we were asked to create a website, a small Moscow factory of plastic windows addressed us, wanting to launch a new b2c-sales line, we quickly realized that using a single website would not help.
At first glance, the plastic window market is oversaturated and new players have nothing to do there. Dozens of sites in the blocks of "Direct" trying to attract the attention of users, it is necessary to show minimal interest in the windows. But if you look closely, it turns out that all of them work within the framework of one marketing - marketing of permanent shares and 50% discounts. And even large manufacturers have joined this discount game.
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It is necessary to enter most of the window sites, and they will immediately offer you a personal discount, make the winner of the action, announce the last slot of the measurer for today, and the price calculated for the calculator will be so low that they will pay a little more. All this for the sake of your call.
Next is the work of a quick sales manager, who convincingly pushes the price change promised on the site four times and sells the “free” measurer. That, in turn, is obliged to leave your apartment with a signed contract, so it will sell again.
As a result, in order to enter the market “like everyone else”, it would be necessary not only to play “spread out contact at any cost”, but also to create a strong sales department. It was not our option.
The main business of our client is b2b, and he is not ready to develop a b2c-sales department. We understood that no matter how good the site is, in the current realities everything will rest in weak salespeople. We needed a solution that would allow us to enter the market without creating additional difficulties for the client.
The standard approach to selling plastic windows in Moscow is to sell windows as a complete service, which also includes metering, delivery, and installation. For many, this is the desired option. But in the process of research, another segment emerged - those who only need windows.
It is possible to buy windows without measurement, installation and other things in construction hypermarkets, but the assortment is presented in typical sizes and products of not the best quality.
A number of window sites seem to offer the possibility of buying without installation, but in fact it is either the same standard sizes or mimicry for an online store in order to get contacts and draw them into a standard sales scheme. What to do if you only need a window from a good profile, also in a non-typical size?
So the idea came up:
The idea seemed promising, and besides, it fit perfectly into the existing business processes of the client, without requiring significant efforts to sell it.
To validate the idea, we conducted a series of in-depth interviews with representatives of Central Asia and were convinced that there is a need.
We did not ask what the buyers would like - we were interested in their actual experience in solving such problems. This is a very important nuance that you should pay attention to when conducting an interview.
The range of client profile systems consisted of nine positions, which, together with three variants of double-glazed windows and two accessories, created a large number of possible combinations and complicated the selection and order on the website.
After analyzing how people choose and buy windows, we decided to proceed from the tasks. Thus, four categories were introduced: “windows for dacha”, “windows for an apartment”, “windows with increased heat and sound insulation” and “premium windows”. The task of the latter is to emphasize cool prices in other categories.
Together with the business, we have formed several variants of windows in each category so that, on the one hand, we give a choice, on the other - not to complicate it.
The next difficulty was the calculator. The key idea of ​​the project is to sell the windows in the required size and immediately give a fair, final price. And for this you need a calculator. There were no existing solutions covering our tasks, so we had to create it from scratch.
All window calculators presented on the Internet are based on the design: first you need to select one, two or three-leaved version of the design, and then enter the required dimensions. It would seem that this is convenient, but the classic conversation when ordering windows sounds like this: “Count the window 1450 by 1200”. The manager independently defines that in this size it is possible to make a double-wing window.
When designing the interface, we took into account this feature and created a calculator that “asks” only the size and selects itself, what window design can be made in it.
Advertising after the first iteration of the site showed great interest on the part of buyers: out of ten calls nine turned into orders. And “sell” was not required - all communication took place in the “where to transfer money” style.
But people were in no hurry to fill out applications via the website - the bulk of the calls were by telephone. It did not suit us.
By eliminating all imposed services from the window price, we were able to offer really low prices without discounts and promotions, while maintaining a high margin. But such low prices caused problems — people didn’t believe them.
Despite the convenient calculator, which allowed to get the exact cost of any window in any size immediately on the site, people continued to call for calculation. Investigating the problem, it turned out that most of the visitors successfully cope with the calculator, but not trusting the calculations, they call to check back. It was necessary to increase confidence in the price and incline to checkout through the basket.
It was necessary to break the stereotypes formed by the niche. Iteratively, step by step, introducing point changes, we changed the ratio of applications on the site and via the phone, simultaneously increasing the conversion.
Users liked the product because they allowed to buy what they needed at a good price. Our client liked the product because it allowed with minimal effort to sell windows to end customers. I was impressed with the product and competitors - in the first months after launch we received a dozen appeals to make the same decision. And do not develop something new, but just copy it.
And this reflects the current situation in the window market - every year at the beginning of the season there are new players who, without trying to understand the product and understand their customers, continue to blindly copy competitors.
And by the end of the year, most of them are closed, because the path of discounts and borrowings only seems simple and cheap - in fact, to be competitive, you have to seriously spend at least good salespeople, expensive advertising and distribution of freebies.
To avoid this, you do not need to be led by the market and the decisions of competitors. Immersed in existing business processes, identifying specific business objectives and the target audience, you can find free space even in a saturated, highly competitive market.
When we were asked to create a website, a small Moscow factory of plastic windows addressed us, wanting to launch a new b2c-sales line, we quickly realized that using a single website would not help.
What is wrong with the plastic windows market in Moscow
At first glance, the plastic window market is oversaturated and new players have nothing to do there. Dozens of sites in the blocks of "Direct" trying to attract the attention of users, it is necessary to show minimal interest in the windows. But if you look closely, it turns out that all of them work within the framework of one marketing - marketing of permanent shares and 50% discounts. And even large manufacturers have joined this discount game.
')
It is necessary to enter most of the window sites, and they will immediately offer you a personal discount, make the winner of the action, announce the last slot of the measurer for today, and the price calculated for the calculator will be so low that they will pay a little more. All this for the sake of your call.
Next is the work of a quick sales manager, who convincingly pushes the price change promised on the site four times and sells the “free” measurer. That, in turn, is obliged to leave your apartment with a signed contract, so it will sell again.
As a result, in order to enter the market “like everyone else”, it would be necessary not only to play “spread out contact at any cost”, but also to create a strong sales department. It was not our option.
The main business of our client is b2b, and he is not ready to develop a b2c-sales department. We understood that no matter how good the site is, in the current realities everything will rest in weak salespeople. We needed a solution that would allow us to enter the market without creating additional difficulties for the client.
Going beyond
The standard approach to selling plastic windows in Moscow is to sell windows as a complete service, which also includes metering, delivery, and installation. For many, this is the desired option. But in the process of research, another segment emerged - those who only need windows.
It is possible to buy windows without measurement, installation and other things in construction hypermarkets, but the assortment is presented in typical sizes and products of not the best quality.
A number of window sites seem to offer the possibility of buying without installation, but in fact it is either the same standard sizes or mimicry for an online store in order to get contacts and draw them into a standard sales scheme. What to do if you only need a window from a good profile, also in a non-typical size?
So the idea came up:
Online store of windows without installation, where you can buy a window in the right size, independently decide what additional services are needed, and get a fair price immediately on the site.
The idea seemed promising, and besides, it fit perfectly into the existing business processes of the client, without requiring significant efforts to sell it.
To validate the idea, we conducted a series of in-depth interviews with representatives of Central Asia and were convinced that there is a need.
We did not ask what the buyers would like - we were interested in their actual experience in solving such problems. This is a very important nuance that you should pay attention to when conducting an interview.
Difficulties
The range of client profile systems consisted of nine positions, which, together with three variants of double-glazed windows and two accessories, created a large number of possible combinations and complicated the selection and order on the website.
After analyzing how people choose and buy windows, we decided to proceed from the tasks. Thus, four categories were introduced: “windows for dacha”, “windows for an apartment”, “windows with increased heat and sound insulation” and “premium windows”. The task of the latter is to emphasize cool prices in other categories.
Together with the business, we have formed several variants of windows in each category so that, on the one hand, we give a choice, on the other - not to complicate it.
The next difficulty was the calculator. The key idea of ​​the project is to sell the windows in the required size and immediately give a fair, final price. And for this you need a calculator. There were no existing solutions covering our tasks, so we had to create it from scratch.
All window calculators presented on the Internet are based on the design: first you need to select one, two or three-leaved version of the design, and then enter the required dimensions. It would seem that this is convenient, but the classic conversation when ordering windows sounds like this: “Count the window 1450 by 1200”. The manager independently defines that in this size it is possible to make a double-wing window.
When designing the interface, we took into account this feature and created a calculator that “asks” only the size and selects itself, what window design can be made in it.
Advertising after the first iteration of the site showed great interest on the part of buyers: out of ten calls nine turned into orders. And “sell” was not required - all communication took place in the “where to transfer money” style.
But people were in no hurry to fill out applications via the website - the bulk of the calls were by telephone. It did not suit us.
Why are the prices so low?
By eliminating all imposed services from the window price, we were able to offer really low prices without discounts and promotions, while maintaining a high margin. But such low prices caused problems — people didn’t believe them.
Despite the convenient calculator, which allowed to get the exact cost of any window in any size immediately on the site, people continued to call for calculation. Investigating the problem, it turned out that most of the visitors successfully cope with the calculator, but not trusting the calculations, they call to check back. It was necessary to increase confidence in the price and incline to checkout through the basket.
It was necessary to break the stereotypes formed by the niche. Iteratively, step by step, introducing point changes, we changed the ratio of applications on the site and via the phone, simultaneously increasing the conversion.
In one of the iterations, we had to artificially slow down the calculator - it felt so fast that it led users to the idea of ​​deception. Now the calculator counts with a floating delay of 1-3 seconds.
Market reaction
Users liked the product because they allowed to buy what they needed at a good price. Our client liked the product because it allowed with minimal effort to sell windows to end customers. I was impressed with the product and competitors - in the first months after launch we received a dozen appeals to make the same decision. And do not develop something new, but just copy it.
And this reflects the current situation in the window market - every year at the beginning of the season there are new players who, without trying to understand the product and understand their customers, continue to blindly copy competitors.
And by the end of the year, most of them are closed, because the path of discounts and borrowings only seems simple and cheap - in fact, to be competitive, you have to seriously spend at least good salespeople, expensive advertising and distribution of freebies.
To avoid this, you do not need to be led by the market and the decisions of competitors. Immersed in existing business processes, identifying specific business objectives and the target audience, you can find free space even in a saturated, highly competitive market.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/447856/
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