There are many large players in Russia: DNS, Citylink, M.Video-Eldorado, Svyaznoy, MTS online store, brand boutiques and marketplaces. Where are you in this "food chain"?
We are somewhere in the middle of the "food chain". We do not have our own offline network or large investors, but over 12 years on the market we have won a loyal audience. We have good visibility on the Internet, despite the fact that we are not yet very involved in purely image marketing: on marketplaces we compete on par with the market leaders.
This year, our website now offers installment payments, the option of self-pickup, payment via the SBP upon receipt, we moved to a new, more spacious warehouse - in general, we are actively developing and growing.
Industry leaders are striving to expand their market presence as much as possible. Is your role "attacking", requiring you to go into customer segments where M.Video and other formats are less competitive, or "competing"? What audience do you work for?
The home appliances niche is very competitive. Large players occupy instagram data a large share of it. Many manufacturers begin to sell their products directly from official websites and on marketplaces. After 2022, some manufacturers left the Russian market - in some places parallel imports have been established, in others they have been replaced by other brands.
In unstable times, "Empire Techno" is monitoring the competitive environment, trying to maintain its positions and enter new segments. So, in addition to household appliances, we are actively developing sales in the plumbing segment. In addition, the team is focused on project work with a number of brands - pumping up turnover for them and working at the intersection of sales and image advertising. This year, a good case is developing with Delonghi, an Italian brand that most people know for its popular coffee machines. We took on the task of promoting and increasing sales of our partner's large household appliances.
Our customers are private clients and sole proprietors. They value attentive attitude and convenient service (delivery, payment, installation, repair). We cover all of this at every stage of the funnel.
Competitors offer the user quality service: best price guarantee, generally attractive cost of goods, warranty, insurance, good and fast delivery, huge assortment, digital services. What of this do you also offer? What factors have the greatest influence on the purchase decision?
The determining factors for purchases in our niche are price, speed and convenience of delivery. Related factors are reviews of the product and the store. As for prices, we try to keep them affordable, hold promotions and give promo codes for the first purchase, maintaining the average check, and selected brands.
We deliver goods by our own courier service and to pick-up points. In the online store we offer extended service options: extended warranty, the possibility of recycling old equipment and installing purchased equipment. When buying TVs, the buyer can insure himself and choose an additional check for dead pixels.
What principle do you use to monitor competitors' prices? Do you focus only on local sellers or do you also consider federal chains?
Local players provide too little value for us to set ourselves the task of competing with them.
In addition, we are no longer a local player, as we deliver to 14 regions ourselves. The strong point of local players is the availability of goods here and now, without waiting. If a local seller offers goods with a long waiting period, then all he can do to attract buyers is the price.
We have set up our shipping and delivery system similar to FBS models on marketplaces, so the delivery time for most products is 1-2 days.
In addition to assortment, prices and marketing, sales are greatly influenced by the availability of loans and installments. Do you offer installments?
Not long ago, we added the option to buy on credit/installments to the site. This is a popular solution now for paying in installments via Yandex Split and a loan from T-Bank. They have already given a good increase in orders. This shows that for some of the audience, the ability to pay for a large purchase over a long period of time is important.
At the moment, credit/installment is not available for all products, but we are working on it, as we see potential for growth.
What marketing tools lead you to a financial result? What do you do to make the client vote for "Empire of Techno" with his ruble?
Our marketing is quite classic. Now there is a goal to strengthen in the niche, increase turnover and sales margins, while remaining in the economy in terms of the share of advertising costs. Therefore, we do not look much at image-based costly formats yet, but look for the best offers in terms of price, service and presentation, optimally profitable sources of attraction. This is search traffic, mailings to the database, work with CPA networks.