NETWORK NUTRITION DISTRIBUTORS (NND) Priority goals: Build extensive network of satisfied customers and motivated distributors. NND’s customers are both people who use their products (nutritional supplements and health care items) and the distributors who sell for them. As a “network marketing” organization, NND owners Lisa and Tom Fairmont succeed when people in their “downline” (distributors from whose sale they get a small percentage) effectively sell both product and the business concept to other distributors. One customer service challenge Lisa and Tom face is that they rarely deal face-to-face with their customers. They do recruit new distributors and demonstrate products at meetings and conferences, but most follow-up and sales comes from online, email, text messaging, and phone calls. NND also needs to differentiate their products from similar ones sold in stores. Personalizing products for the individual needs of customers is particularly important. Their products also cost more than similar nutritionals sold in big box stores or supermarkets. Finally, NND deals with suspicion of potential customers and distributors who worry about the idea of network marketing (some see it as a pyramid scheme where only the people at the top succeed while others lose money as distributors). Most consumers acknowledge the high quality of NND products but worry about the pricing. They seem expensive relative to some competing products available in stores.
Do some creative thinking about possible ideas you could apply to create A-plus value using the seven areas. Describe at least three ideas for each:
• packaging, guarantees (warrantees)
• goodness of product fit
• “memorability” of product experience
• uniqueness and shared values
• company credibility
• add-ons