Branded products in the online business

With increasing brand strength, a brand becomes more sensitive.

The higher the brand awareness in the market and the involvement of the target group, the easier a brand can be negatively affected by inappropriate brand management, resulting in damage to its image. Online trade, by its very nature, poses specific risks to manufacturers of branded consumer goods. In the era before the Internet, manufacturers of consumer goods had many opportunities to direct the channels of distribution and brand positioning. However, the increased importance of online trade can not be ignored anymore by manufacturers of consumer goods. One part of the problem is that many brick-and-mortar retailers additionally sell online, at strongly discounted prices and low marginal cost, to generate additional contribution margins. Another risk in online trade is a low barrier to market entry, which results in online stores often being run by inexperienced salespeople and persons with no background in the industry. Frequently, these "businesses" are short-lived and sorted out by the market. But for your brand, the damage that has been done persists!

Economically unqualified calculations, inept merchandise presentation, poor product descriptions, inappropriate online platforms etc. all contribute to the problem caused by inexperienced online salespeople. Another serious problem for the (online) reputation of your brand is the fact that those salespeople often lack knowledge about the products themselves as well as their customers' needs. The manufacturer hardly ever succeeds picking up the pieces.

Do not leave value retention and your brand image to chance! Here is what you can do as a manufacturer:

Finding your way through the conflicting fields of legal frameworks, cluttered channels of distribution, unmanageable flow of commodities and economically desirable influence on distributor selection is not easy. To retain and increase your brand value and boost your brand image within the online trade sector, different individual measures have to be taken. Together with our brand partners, we specify the right measures and steps.

Sustainable brand value retention, an increase of your brand value and your brand image, as well as a long-term sales success are the key objectives a partnership with Sommerhoff will achieve for your brand.

product praesentation

Two presentations of the same branded product at different online shops. An illustration of sales at considerably different profit margins.