The key to success in everything is consistency, patience, and research. Keep moving, and you will reach your goals.
The key to success in everything is consistency, patience, and research. Keep moving, and you will reach your goals.
Alhamdulillah!
Yes, you have finally decided to launch your halal products or services. Many countries now offer halal-certified products in all categories of needs, ranging from health, wealth, lifestyle, to all aspects of conventional products and services.
With over 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide and the estimated $3 billion halal market increase rate by 2023, there is room for more brands to join the moving train.
But like many other entrepreneurs, how do we rise amidst the ocean of numerous competitors worldwide?
In all the primary needs of any successful brand, a sales strategy should be the most essential from the scratch. It encompasses all the features that will enhance your halal product visibility in every sphere of marketing.
Once a product has to default on promotional techniques from the start, it becomes difficult to reach its potential customers. Buyers are indicators of successful sales strategies, and any product that lacks its potential buyer is ultimately on a loss route.
A sales strategy is as imperative as your halal product or services. It should start the first day you start nurturing the product idea. Well-planned promotional strategies help your product in the competitive game, and it creates a unique space for it in the market and also aids your brand to see the light of day.
With thousands of similar products everywhere, from both conventional and the halal business world, how can you make your product a household name?
Below are some of the best sales approaches to any halal brand success.
1. Know Your Buyers
A must-solve business puzzle for every brand is to know your product buyers’ persona.
Who is your product for? What is your customer’s problem? How can you solve it? What makes your product different from others?
Also, you need to be checking your competitor’s strength – and understanding what capabilities you need to make a difference is a must. What aspect of culture or religion can help your product win the race is another food for thought. We can go on and on, but you must know who are your product’s target.
This is called a buyers persona. There are free templates on buyers’ persona on the internet. Download it to set your target persona. The greatest mistake of any entrepreneur is to lack knowledge of its ideal persona.
It is important to research so that you can know about your target customers. A survey can be a great help in understanding the existing customer demographics. This will pave the way to win more customers as well.
When you have identified and created a clear picture of your target customers, it is easy to work towards your goals by presenting an irresistible offer that will turn them into your loyal clients. Targeting the wrong buyers is wasting of energy and resources.
2. Advertisement
Sales promotion is a clear strategy of communicating to your ideal customers. After identifying your target customers, the next step is to reach them.
Advertisement is the mainspring that propels a skyrocket in sales, and product promotion is a prominent marketing tool since time immemorial. How you target your prospects in your advertisements is crucial.
Firstly, look for same-minded e-commerce stores (like halal marketplaces), websites, and blogs to advertise or register your brand. Search for free Muslim community websites, directories, and local magazines online to connect your product with its worldwide users. Seize the help of print, electronic and local newspapers, magazines, radio, and indigenous radio stations near you to create awareness.
Telemarketing, email campaigns, and newsletters are also all sales promotion strategies. Social media is also yours to use. It is immensely popular nowadays – so, advertise on a free or paid social media platform that suits your buyers. Here are some ways of using social media:
- Facebook: Use videos and curated content
- Instagram: Use high-resolution photos, quotes, stories
- Twitter: Use for news, blog posts, and GIFs
- LinkedIn: Use for jobs, company news, and professional content
- Pinterest: Use for infographics and step-by-step photo guides
Target your buyers on any of these platforms with interesting posts, advertising, and product information. Customer persona will also help you to define your customers’ demographic to avoid wrong targeting.
A sales strategy without an authorized certification is a mess. Muslims are a guided ummah, and everyone is after halal council-certified products. So if you can, register your business and get certified by the Halal council near you.
3. Go Local
If you want to approach Muslim customers successfully, then take advantage of the Google My Business tools. Create a free mini-website on Google with promotional information that is sales converting. It will help show your halal brand to local and foreign customers very easily.
There are hundreds of Muslim and non-Muslim buyers near you that you do not know, so Google My Business can help make it easy for them to locate you without difficulty. It is free to use, and you can also search for buyers through Google My Business and send them a message.
4. Referrals
The most important and strongest medium to create a loyal customer base and approach customers is through referrals – mouth-to-mouth publicity has great potential.
If your customer is satisfied with your product and services, they will refer your product or services to friends and relatives.
A referral is another advertising tool that has a lot of credibility to its name. People buy through testimonials and reviews. Satisfy one household and wait for hundreds in return. Maintain the loyalty of your old customers and the new ones will automatically follow after their testimony.
5. Discount/Promo
Everyone likes gifts and the most valuable thing is that buyers never forget the sellers that give.
There are competitors everywhere, so attract customers by offering free samples and discounts on your products. There is no promotional strategy that works better than a well-planned product discount or freebies. It is a great promotional activity.
Friday is a special day for Muslims, so pick a special Friday to give a discount or free complimentary. No old or new customers will forget your next giveaway day. And by doing this continuously, your product will soon become their household name.
Giving samples also generates a favorable perspective about your product and motivates the customers to make a purchase. In business, a freebie is a source of gathering more buyers.
6. Show Your Value Proposition
How is your halal product different from other conventional or halal products in the same category?
If you position your product as the best solution to your target audience’s problem and approach customers with something different from what they are familiar with, you will discover that they will be impressed by your originality. Your brand value proposition is what you are bringing to the market.
For example, people are familiar with cosmetics, so bringing halal cosmetics that are free of harmful ingredients is a value proposition to cosmetics buyers who value naturally made cosmetics.
Potential customers need a good reason to leave their former brands and start buying from you, so a free product, a good discount, and an irresistible offer can turn your store visitor into a long-time buyer.
You can base your brand value proposition on the price, packaging, ingredients, or any of your competitor’s weak points. Deliver extra value to a well-known product by giving something different with it to increase your visibility.
7. Follow
Have you sent a thank you message to your customers after their Ramadan purchase?
We all love appreciation. Appreciation messages, seasonal greetings, and ‘thank you for buying from us’ are a corner way to follow up with your customers.
Let your buyers know that you also care for them – and not only their money. They will also check on your stores regularly which means more sales.
8. Support Charities
Donating to local neighborhoods masjids, supporting online crowdfunding, and giving charity to orphanages are great sources of acquiring potential customers. Giving to charities will create a favorable impression on the mindset of your community people, and your halal brand will reach more people than expected.
This way, generosity will be everywhere, and will hopefully ensure positive reviews and organic referrals. Give small to Allah and get bigger in returns.
The key to success in everything is consistency, patience, and research. Keep moving, and you will reach your goals. Always be on the lookout for new trends in your niche. Check on your competitors once in a while to know where they are and how you can improve your brand. Your competitors are not your enemy, they are your reflector.
As a Muslim, there will come a test in different ways. Steadfast, patience, and prayer for Allah’s Rahman covers everything.
I wish you the best in your halal business.
