Moving From Marketer To Content Creator Drives Sales In a New Era

Often lost in the discussions about innovation is the role that enlisting consumer, especially key influencer, support is in determining the success of a new product. Despite hours spent in labs and on exacting market research, many an innovative discoveries fail because of ineffective launch strategies.

Identifying and building relationships with opinion leaders is something we try to do in all of our projects from well before the product launch. This is, of course something that the software industry does on a regular basis, enlisting developers in the early stages and releasing beta versions for testing.

In the consumer products arena however, this is used somewhat less often and frequently results in lower visibility and ultimately less success. In an age when consumers are easily accessible through the internet, it seems almost irresponsible to ignore this opportunity to involve them in the early stages of development and create an active community of supporters prior to launch.

An article, How to sell Vodka, discusses how one company, using limited resources, created a hot new product by using the power of the internet and word-of-mouth marketing to build a winner in the distilled spirits category.

"We can't do things with more money or more people. Our aspiration is to find people - customers - who are discoverers and disseminators."

In an era when budget cuts force companies to look for creative ways to market products, innovators are changing focus from top down marketing to content creation.

"We have gone from being a marketer to being a content provider," Phillips said, and he wasn't referring to the contents of a cocktail glass. "Our job is to create photos and tools and content that others can use to build our brand."

How to implement or even initiate this strategy leaves established marketers scratching their heads and grasping at straws. This is, perhaps why it is often the purview of smaller, quicker, younger companies filled with entrepreneurs not MBAs.

Working the web, filled with social networks, blogs and message boards can be a daunting task for the uninitiated. Navigating the realm of social marketing in search of key influencers requires an understanding, not of strategy, but rather of tactics of the web that may be unfamiliar to mainstream marketers.

But that's where the innovators of the product adoption cycle reside these days - on the internet.

Word-of mouth marketing is rapidly replacing aspirational marketing as the tactic of choice for rapidly growing companies. Yes, celebrity endorsement still has the power to drive sales, but a positive review from a well-known blogger can often add legitimacy to a product claim. Viral marketing campaigns and well-executed online PR campaigns reaching key influencers often perform just as well as a mass media ad buy, particularly in smaller fragmented categories. Original content, particularly amusing YouTube videos can raise awareness faster than broadcast ads (though reposting those on YouTube works well too) as they rapidly spread from user to user.

As companies, large and small, scramble to refocus established marketing departments in the new era of Web 2.0, creative strategies evolve to become personal. Content creation becomes the goal. And it is, of course, not your "father's" content. Hipper, of course, but more honest and interactive as consumers play a greater role in influencing product design.

Consumers Choose "New" - It's More Than Just a Word

Last week I wrote about how sometimes it pays to be second to the market with a new idea. Those of us involved in innovation try to look at all angles.

But what is it about developing new products that makes it worthwhile? Why do companies large and small put massive efforts into creating new products? The answer is that new products make money. Sure, the vast majority of new products fail, but those that make it, often make it big, bringing millions of dollars of profit to successful innovators.

A recent post, The Power of New, at Marketing And Strategy Innovation Blog delves a little deeper into the why of new products. Why do consumers like new products? Why do we keep changing the products we buy? Of course, technological advancement drives new product efforts in techie fields, but why do we feel the need to keep changing cereals?

Because it gets us high; that's why! Choosing something new releases dopamine, the same pleasurable sensation associated with a "runners high".

The UK Telegraph, reports that:

Scientists in London have found that we all possess the key brain region which acts on the same pleasure pathways that make drugs addictive. They discovered that people are programmed to try out something new, such as a familiar product in an unfamiliar package or one that boasts a new formula.

Consumers are drawn to the word "new, as well as a change in packaging or product design that convinces the brain that it is looking at an unknown.

"Seeking new and unfamiliar experiences is a fundamental behavioral tendency in humans and animals," says Dr Wittmann. "It makes sense to try new options as they may prove advantageous in the long run. For example, a monkey who chooses to deviate from its diet of bananas, even if this involves moving to an unfamiliar part of the forest and eating a new type of food, may find its diet enriched and more nutritious."

The neuromarketing message, then, seems simple - making a product "new" in some way may give it a boost when compared with competing products.

As professionals involved in innovation, keeping in mind the power of "new" certainly makes sense. However, we do not believe this necessarily should impel companies to step up their new product efforts or slap "new and improved" on existing products that boast incremental changes. Yes, consumers are preprogrammed to seek out the new, but mindless product development and poor execution can still hamstring the most well financed new product effort.

Innovation or Imitation - Sometimes The Answer Might Surprise You

Much as we laud true innovation, in the real world, the word, "new product" often means "line extension" rather than "new to the world". The reasons are obvious.

"It is estimated that there were over 50,000 new products introduced into the consumer products sector last year, up 77% from 10 years ago. Since the typical store has only 40,000 SKU's, it can be pretty difficult for a consumer products company to succeed today!"

The cost of true innovation can be staggering and the risks inherent in following that path can tip the balance toward business as usual. This is one reason often truly new ideas seem to percolate up from the ranks of entrepreneurs with little to lose and large industries with extensive regulatory protection (i.e. drug companies, etc.)

But, an alternative approach, as discussed in this post, Am I Better Off Being An 'Imitvator' Than An 'Innovaor' ? is to be a speedy second.

"Speed doesn't necessarily mean being first, you can be choose to be a strategic fast follower and there are plenty of advantages to that."

The first mover advantage is often exaggerated or blatantly wrong. In many cases the company that seems to have been first to market actually has followed in the footsteps of innovators with strong product ideas, but inadequate execution.

Since good innovation is often an iterative process, this makes sense. Despite extensive exploration into consumer buying behavior and eliciting of consumer opinions, it is good to remember that... research can be wrong. The history of marketing is littered with research failures, the most famous perhaps being New Coke.

The advantage in being second is in the opportunity to improve. Often the errors made in the product development process are not clear until after the initial launch, when it becomes glaringly obvious that a feature was left out or usability is less than desired.

Similarly errors in marketing execution become obvious only after launch. A great product supported with a lousy marketing plan is doomed to failure. While the first mover struggles to correct those errors a nimble second to the market can move into first place with a sharp and rapid launch.

Peak Products, a local Richmond, British Columbia company that was a fast follower providing low cost, but high quality - product and package design - copies to big box retailers, is a good example. Coming second to the market, but improving upon design and supporting the launch with a strategic sales and marketing plan, Peak Products has now been able to position themselves as an innovator. It has become part of their core business.

A key component of innovation is the ability to think outside of the box. Sometimes that means looking beyond pure innovation and toward improvement. While "me too" products and line extensions abound, finding success by being second requires looking beyond the obvious to what might have been.

In our innovation sessions we pay particular attention to competitive products, possible products and newly launched products. Often a pipeline product has already been introduced by a competitor. That isn't necessarily a deterrent. Rather it could be an opportunity.