Envisioning – The road to desirability

Have you ever wondered why some companies are seen as Innovative and others not? Why some companies can outsell their rivals; even with a more expensive product? Certainly brand marketing and awareness will get you through the door but what makes your clients stay and buy?

At a basic level a company’s reputation is based on the clients interaction i.e. be it with a salesperson/advisor or more likely the experience gained from the companies’ web presence. At this very fundamental level it doesn’t matter how much is spent on marketing, a single individual or experience can alienate your potential client and worst case lose them for good. Additionally, in this new technological age these views can now be transmitted to millions of people on the web to affect their views too.

Before the digital revolution it was adequate to have a “Push Strategy” where all you needed to do was bombard your potential clients with literature and eventually they would concede and buy your product, however with the advent of web 2.0, tech savvy consumers are now able to tune out all white noise and adopt are client oriented “Pull Strategy”. Many Companies now allow you to subscribe to feeds which let the consumer “Pull” the information they like at a time and format they want, this unfortunately means that if you do not market your products in this way you have lost out already.

 

So how do you ensure your company is desirable enough to be included in a potential Clients “Pull Strategy”?

Initially you need to get the environmental factors right like Good Product, Good Customer Service, and Good Market Presence however these do not necessarily engender desire.

Today’s tech savvy companies are now starting to engender desire through keynotes, Press Conferences or Product Launches; Apple, Google and Microsoft are particularly good at this and have even allocated different months of the year when announcements are expected. Not only do they demonstrate the new products, they sell a lifestyle and show videos on how the consumer’s lives will be better if they buy these products, they explain how talented and Innovative their staff are and how different they are from the competition. They even show how many people are using previous products and how much you can expect to pay through transparent global pricing. Even though most organisations have good customer stories to tell how many actually use them in press releases and launches?

Why not have a launch for less demonstrable products, I am sure more people would buy investments, insurances etc if they were involved in an event that used envisioning techniques which explained why the costs were applicable and how the products would enhance their life, or support them in times of need. The support structures could be explained and what made the products desirable. By following this proven path to product desirability, more people would be happier buying the products at the right price rather than a cheaper offering with reduced features.