Take the appropriate measures to ensure a bright future for your brand.

Your brand’s future has never looked so bright on the multichannel screens of TV shopping. You’ve met the criteria to move forward and your customers love you even more. Now is not the time to rest on your laurels, but rather to continue the momentum by injecting key elements into your plan that allow your brand to further outshine the competition.

Sales Details

Throughout my career, I’ve always been reminded of two things when it comes to sales: (1) Look at the sales details, and (2) Numbers don’t lie. It’s critical to dive deep into sales history and examine the “how-comes” of the data. As you review the numbers, answer these important questions:

• What is your average on-air revenue per minute? Is this number increasing or decreasing?

• What’s the size of your customer file? What percentage is new to the brand?

• What is your average price point?

• What’s the percentage of your repeat customer base?

• What are your bestselling items?

• What are your worst selling items?

• What other opportunities are there? Auto delivery, sampling, special promotions?

In addition to hard sales data, reviews of taped on-air presentations as well as web content should be part of your analysis. We constantly ask our clients if they’ve reviewed their on-air presentation. Don’t be afraid to watch. It’s important to see which demonstrations and sound bites resonate most with the customer.

On the web, your content must be precise and really speak to your product. In addition, don’t minimize the importance of product reviews. This will tell you what the customer thinks of your product. It will also allow you to enhance your product value proposition and give the customer the much-needed information she is asking for.

Focus, Focus, Focus

With your results in hand, it is important to stay true to your brand message and avoid straying from it. Your brand positioning sets you apart from your competition and gives you purpose. Begin by simplifying your messaging, positioning and presentation values, and eliminate anything unnecessary. Without doing this, you decrease chances of continued success.

If you are expanding your product line, the product must fit logically with your brand’s overall story and positioning. If you are a color cosmetic line, you wouldn’t create a household-cleaning product. This may be an extreme example, but the point is that you have established yourself with the customer as an expert in a category. The minute you stray from your expertise, the customer will begin to doubt you.

Innovate and Stay Relevant

In television shopping, brands are under constant pressure to create new products for the customer. It is estimated that television shopping channels sell over 1,000 products a week. In addition, their formula for success allows for a specific number of product introductions every hour. So why does it work? Viewers need reasons to stay tuned in to your product or program. They crave newness that not only delivers, but also changes their lives in a positive way, so innovation is vital for long-term success. Without it, the customer will become bored and shop another brand.

When creating a new product or configuration, it must translate what your brand started with. Brands with iconic status leverage their key items, develop new products that work within the brand assortment and story, and stay relevant.

Relevancy goes hand in hand with innovation. The television shopping business runs at real-time speed. They too have to stay significant by keeping up with what is timely and topical.

Taking a successful brand to the next level requires a proactive plan that strategically outlines your sales success, innovation and distribution plans. It should always take into consideration your brand position and constantly stay relevant to your customer. And don’t forget to communicate your strategy with your merchandise team and other key stakeholders. It takes more than a single mind to continue building a bright future for your brand.

About the Author

With over 20 years of experience in the television shopping industry, Donna Tarantino is currently vice president of beauty and style for Risdall Consumer Direct. She was previously ShopNBC’s director of beauty, health and fitness, and has helped conceive, develop and transform numerous beauty brands into household names, including Bare Escentuals, Smashbox Cosmetics, Philosophy, Too Faced Cosmetics, Peter Coppola Haircare, Skinn Cosmetics, Nick Chavez Haircare and more.