Collective Buying Power: Matching People To Product And Product To People
By Angela Myers, Market America | SHOP.COM
One of the worst feelings in the world is to launch a new product that no one buys. Developing and promoting products can take hours of hard work and innovation, so you want to ensure that your product launches excite customers enough to purchase. Traditionally, companies launch a product and sell it to as many customers as possible. But what if the next time you launched a product, people were sold on it even before the release? Market America | SHOP.COM has found that collective buying power can minimize stress and uncertainty in product launches and ROI.
Market America is a Global Product Brokerage and Internet Marketing company that specializes in One-to-One Marketing. Market America | SHOP.COM has used collective buying power since its inception to create a sustainable and profitable business. Eddie Alberty, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Market America | SHOP.COM, said in an interview, “Collective buying power allows companies to match people to product and product to people.”
What Is Collective Buying Power?
Alberty described collective buying power as a way to reverse engineer sales. Today’s online retailers usually collect data on what their customers regularly purchase while also tracking customer preferences and keeping an eye on current and upcoming trends. Businesses use all of this information to determine what new products they want to offer next. Sometimes, however, the road to a product launch stops at a supplier’s door, due to cost of the materials that it takes to develop the product. Market America | SHOP.COM uses its “people power” and its Shopping Annuity assessment data, among other tools, to go to a supplier with the set price their customers are willing to pay. In the end, the customers get the products they want at the price they want.
The Power Behind Collective Buying Power
Market America | SHOP.COM tracks customer shopping habits, collects customer comments and feedback from various and ongoing surveys. Alberty explained, “We aggregate hundreds of thousands of customers and a monetized community of entrepreneurs and the products they buy monthly, quarterly and annually. This information is characterized and tracked so that we can understand their needs to bring them exactly what they want.” The collected data can give you an idea of what you’re selling, what people are buying, and what they would want you to offer in the future.
Yet the most powerful data collection tool is the company’s revolutionary concept, Shopping Annuity, which helps smart shoppers convert their spending into earning using SHOP.COM, the company’s e-commerce site. It also provides a deeper dive into each one of their customers, which, in turn, means better quality products at a more affordable price. Alberty explained, “The assessment identifies everything you need and then matches you with the products and services you want, finds the best deals, and provides ways to automate the shopping that you were going to do anyway.” Shopping Annuity asks consumers how they spend their money and what they spend it on so there is a complete understanding of the customer’s shopping habits and needs.
Why Collective Buying Power Matters
 The most powerful data collection tool is the company’s revolutionary concept, Shopping Annuity, which helps smart shoppers convert their spending into earning using SHOP.COM |
Once a company has collected data on customers’ shopping preferences, they can launch and promote the products customers need. This revolutionizes the sales process by replacing risky decisions with calculated choices backed by numbers and customer feedback.
However, the power goes beyond product launches and promotions. Collective buying power also can give a company leverage with certain suppliers. Alberty revealed, “When we combine the buying power of millions of loyal customers, we create an opportunity to negotiate better prices to create savings, based on the power of numbers. This collective buying power can drive prices down.” When the numbers and consumers are behind a company, collective buying power can make all the difference in price negotiations with suppliers and, in turn, can provide more longevity to the online retailer as well.
“Digital aggregation and people power help us to leverage with certain suppliers, to create the best products at the best prices, and to give our customers the best deals.” Collective buying power takes some uncertainty and stress out of sales, product launches, and marketing. Through collective buying power, Market America | SHOP.COM is able to go into product launches and negotiations with suppliers more confidently.
About The Author
Angela Myers is the Public Relations and Marketing Intern at Market America | SHOP.COM. Angela is a sophomore at Elon University double majoring in Professional Writing and History. Her passions include business writing, travel and fitness.