Introducing a New Category in Council Proposal: Product Innovation
In this rapidly evolving world, one constant remains: innovation. This is particularly true in the technology sector, as we're standing on the brink of a new era with emerging technologies like AI poised to leave a significant imprint on society.
As marketers, it's crucial to ensure our offerings align with consumer needs and preferences to maintain competitiveness. Launching an entirely new product category and stirring up demand from the ground up can be a daunting task, but it also opens up a fresh narrative that has the potential to excite people and broaden their horizons by conjuring up new possibilities. Though I've been involved in marketing groundbreaking technologies since 1996, valuable lessons can be drawn from this experience and applied to various industries.
Here are three crucial aspects to keep in mind when creating interest, increasing awareness, and generating demand for a new product category.
Begin with the Customer, Not the Product
Despite the attractiveness of detailing a product's attributes, it's vital to connect these aspects to customer desires, expectations, and motivations across individual consumers, businesses, and industries. By conducting thorough research, you can identify the existing product landscape and pinpoint where a new device category fits in, and ultimately, makes an impact. Strategies centered around leveraging data can help fill a void, bolster relationships with customers, and nurture new customer bases while enhancing a company's revenue stream.
A prime example of this is Airbnb, which addressed the unmet demand for travel options beyond hotels. Airbnb's unique selling point was its incorporation of user-generated content such as customer testimonials and reviews, which proved instrumental in building brand recognition and demonstrating its value proposition to potential clients. The brand wasn't just offering travelers an alternative lodging solution; it provided a personalized vacation experience that far surpassed traditional hotels in authenticity and community.
Understanding your audience requires more than a one-size-fits-all outlook, and you must segment customers based on individual preferences, values, and motivations. One effective and powerful way to do this is through psychographic segmentation, which involves grouping customers within a market or space based on shared attitudes, values, or motivations. This allows you to craft tailored marketing campaigns for each group and establish a solid foundation for the relationship you want to foster with new customer bases, while simultaneously supporting your company's financial success. Many businesses neglect the value of tailoring their marketing efforts to individual customer journeys, which often leads to ineffective messaging and negative associations with the brand.
Customer segmentation can be intricate and requires an in-depth understanding of the nuances within each group. Instead of treating customers as a collective, aim for a human-centered approach and genuinely analyze their needs, preferences, and values. This will ensure that your brand resonates with your target audience and empowers you to build a meaningful connection with them along their journey.
Don't Rely on Novelty Alone—Show Your Customers Differentiated Value
The intrigue surrounding a new product and its value is captivating, but relying solely on novelty to engage audiences is insufficient. Instead, the focus should be on highlighting your product's unique value proposition and demonstrating its added benefits to customers. Recently, Lenovo unveiled the initial generation of AI PCs for consumers and businesses, marking a significant milestone in the personal computing industry. While the new technology is groundbreaking on a personal level and could revolutionize creativity and productivity, Lenovo needed to differentiate itself in an increasingly crowded market and emphasize its approach to AI.
This concept of highlighting the real-world impact of a product on consumers' daily lives extends to other industries. For instance, when Bobbi Brown launched 'no-makeup makeup' more than three decades ago, it challenged societal expectations of beauty by providing women the tools to look and feel beautiful on their own terms. In the context of AI-powered technology, we're empowering individuals and businesses by introducing them to innovative technology they never knew existed.
Utilize a Multi-faceted Approach When Employing Marketing Strategies
As you aim to reach a diverse audience, blending various marketing tactics across paid, earned, shared, and owned (PESO) media becomes indispensable. It's essential to deploy a targeted, strategic plan for each tactic, ensuring they help you meet your objectives at each touchpoint of customer interaction. Lenovo employed the PESO model during its AI PC launch at Lenovo Innovation World in Berlin, featuring a hybrid in-person and virtual event, diverse advertising spots, digital promotion, social media campaigns, mainstream media coverage, creator partnerships, and more – effectively creating a holistic campaign that catered to customers across multiple platforms.
Exploring a fresh market segment, whether it's a product or service, presents a significant opportunity. However, it's accompanied by distinct challenges, such as educating the market. As marketing experts, it's crucial to put the customer at the forefront and precisely understand their needs and concerns. Demonstrating uniqueness through differentiation is key, along with utilizing a wider range of marketing tools. These efforts help generate market interest and eventually satisfy customers with the introduction of innovative products that positively impact their lives.
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Emily Ketchen, a renowned marketing expert, has been involved in marketing groundbreaking technologies since 1996. Her insights and experiences have been instrumental in shaping marketing strategies for various industries.
For instance, during her tenure, she led the marketing efforts for a company that launched an entirely new product category, similar to Airbnb's entry into the travel industry. Emily's approach centered around understanding the customer's needs and preferences, which allowed the company to tailor its marketing messages effectively, ultimately driving demand and success.
