In my 20-plus years of helping dietary supplement, food, beverage and branded ingredient companies market their products, I’ve seen a common and avoidable mistake that happens early in the product’s life cycle.
It starts when my clients hit on a quality product. The innovators and early adopters (people who are born hardwired to try new products) quickly realize that the product delivers the results it promises. News spreads quickly among these folks and up go the sales. Because early adopters love to try new things, convincing them to try a new product is actually quite easy. The flip side, of course, is their lack of loyalty to a brand. Innovators and early adopters do what innovators and early adopters do: They move on.
Too often I see companies come to a false negative about their product’s life cycle: They assume that because their product has seen an early spike and then a reduction in sales that something is wrong. The truth is, that’s a normal pattern for a successful product. And the good news is that innovators and early adopters who cause this spike make up only a small percentage of the population. The real money is made from the rest of the population, who are less fickle and more likely to become loyal customers for years or a lifetime.
While innovators are quick to try new products and quick to switch, the rest of the population is slow to try new products and slow to switch.
Transitioning from innovators and early adopters to the mass market of early and late majority consumers requires a shift in the marketing strategy. To persuade the early and late majority to buy your product, not only do they need to know that it exists, they need much more convincing to get them to give it a try.
I’ve seen many clients give up too early in the dietary supplement industry. Very effective, properly-formulated products miss out on becoming a cash cow brand because companies assume that what worked in the early stage customers should work with the masses. It doesn’t. My successful clients have the patience and persistence to do the repetitive educational promotions that eventually sway the public to embrace their products as trusted brands. They adapt to promotional strategies such as healthcare professional outreach: identifying personal trainers, pharmacists, nutritionists and other healthcare professionals to act as brand advocates for their product. These professionals are a wonderful conduit who steadily reach and teach the early and late majority about your product, giving them the tools they need to feel comfortable trying a “new to them” product. As savvy spokespeople, they also dominate the media with cascading waves of studies and information. .
Don’t misinterpret the early rise and fall of innovators and early adopters as your product fizzling out. If you are in the natural products and ingredients industry including food, beverages and supplements with a good product (strong structure-function statements or FDA health claims, and good science and safety data behind it) I’d love to talk with you. I have a track record of helping companies transition their marketing to capture the buying power of the masses. If you would like to discuss your marketing challenges, give me a call at 952-697-5269. I’ve worked behind the scenes with hundreds of companies, and usually have some valuable insight and connections to share.
