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SensoGram 25: The Holy Grail of Marketing
Many factors bear on the success or failure of a product. If only we knew the real hot buttons, we could devote resources to these and ignore the others. This might be termed the `holy grail of marketing': it is reminiscent of the old adage that only 50% of advertising works ... if only we knew which 50%!
Logical analysis can help. The above diagram splits the factors into sensory - those concerned with the experience of the product itself - and nonsensory - such as advertising, building of imagery etc.
It goes without saying that the nonsensory factors must be key in encouraging trial of a product; after all, before trial there can be no product experience. At product trial, however, sensory experience dominates our impression. Post trial, the nonsensory factors again enter the equation but their influence - whether positive of negative - depends utterly on the product experience.
If the experience is good, then the awareness and image building will reinforce the product and encourage repeat purchase. On the other hand, if the product experience is disappointing, then subsequent advertising only irritates the consumer. (Think about this yourself: when you see or hear hype about a product that you have tried and found wanting, does it not irritate you?)
Thus, both sensory and nonsensory need to be positive. Without good awareness and enticement there is no product trial; without a good product there is no repeat purchase. Note, too, that even when repeat purchase is not expected (as, for example, in the case of a stage show or movie), the product must still be good because negative word of mouth will kill a poor production.
Reviewing years of concept and product testing at SensoMetrics reveals an interesting fact: it is far more straightforward to achieve a good concept (ie attract trial) than it is to achieve a really good product (sustain repeat purchase). Many hundreds of consumer tests show that the concept has failed in relatively few cases, whereas product failure is common. Putting it another way, it is much more difficult to deliver on the concept than to deliver the concept itself.
So, returning to the quest for the holy grail, what does our experience tell us? That most products fail because the product experience itself is not good/new/exciting/different enough. When the product is ordinary, all marketing efforts are an eventual waste of time and money.
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