Consumer goods companies: how to launch your own successfully

The rising influence of digital platforms can be a godsend or a curse to new consumer goods companies — the former if you know how to use them and the latter if you’re not up to speed. But does digital actually help new brands become successful? For example; new business owners have less need for renting a high street property, and sites such as YouTube and Facebook have provided free advertising that makes the cost of promoting a brand more affordable. So, clearly there are perks.

Could it be that we need to take standard business models and practices and simply digitalise them to be successful in 2018? Start-up customer goods companies need to harness traditional and novel methods of business to progress — but how do we do this?

Competing in the competitive market

The fusion of traditional and digital business processes is essential in 2018 for consumer goods companies — especially new ones. The idea of supply and demand has steered companies to huge profits from the start of commerce. If nobody wants it, they won’t buy it — do your research to establish what people want or need. Research online and use the wide reach of the internet to learn everything there is to know about your market. This will let you know if there is room for you in the industry, see what is currently trending, and help you make your range stand out from others.

Outwitting the competition

Competition has been around since the idea of business began — and this carries on through the digital age. What sets you apart from another company that sells similar products or offers services like yours?

If you’re new, you need to work extra hard to stand out — make customers choose you over established brands. Aspects like a cool logo, slick email marketing strategy and engaging Facebook presence can help. In a recent study, research from StartUp Britain (a national, government-backed campaign) suggests that there are around 80 new businesses launching in the UK every hour, so it’s clear that entrepreneurial competition is fierce. Remember, people have instant access to multiple websites and will compare prices before making a purchase.

Making the most of social media benefits

One of the largest perks of having a strong online presence and truly harnessing digital is the availability of free advertising. Marketing has always been essential to businesses across the decades. Today, you can advertise your entire stock completely free of charge using sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Also, networking sites help you build brand awareness and loyalty, while allowing your brand to engage with and get to know its audience for future marketing purposes.

Making your brand digital

How popular is digital? According to studies, very, which means it’s critical to your success that you become accustomed to ecommerce. Over 2017, nearly 90% of UK consumers have bought at least one item on the internet. Since the dependence on physical stores has eased, start-up customer goods companies on a budget can grow like never before. E-commerce not only saves you money on overhead costs, but it also has the potential to reach a large audience at once.

Let’s look at some statistics and see how massive companies have used digital platforms to succeed. Warehousing a huge variety of goods, eBay and Amazon have both become one-stop virtual shops for consumer goods, which proves that — with digital opportunities — you can also get a seat at the big-league table. What’s more, ASOS had over 73 million visits in August 2017, with more than a quarter of its traffic coming from the UK. Other online start-ups — such as Missguided, Pretty Little Thing and Boohoo — have all also successfully capitalised on the demand for online shopping and boast massive turnovers.

There are multiple ways you can use digital to your advantage, including advertising, boosting brand awareness and driving potential customers to look at your range. Merging the world of digital with the established, traditional methods of business, all start-up consumer goods companies have the opportunity to succeed on a budget.

Omega Plastics, a plastic injection moulding specialist, researched and created this article.