How To Differentiate Your Product With Product Testing
Launching a new product or service can be a risky proposition. There are so many different ways the launch can go wrong. One area where people often fail to plan accordingly is product differentiation. With so many products available on the market today, how do you know that your product is offering something unique to consumers? What assurances are there that the average customer will notice your brand and recognize what sets it apart from all of the other competing brands on the market? And, if there is sufficient differentiation, how can you really know? What can you do to truly be certain of how people think and feel when it comes to using your product?
These are some pretty important questions that must be asked. Fortunately, the answers to all these questions (and more) can come from differentiating your product through product testing.
Why is Differentiation Important?
“There is nothing new under the sun.” You’ve probably heard this common expression before, but although it’s a cliche, that doesn’t make this fact any less true: no matter what your product is, chances are that it — or something similar to it — has been thought up and sold already. In most cases, many, many times before. Every single type of product that exists has competitors. In some cases, hundreds, if not thousands of brands compete for the same thin slice of market exposure. The odds that a new brand can come in and grab up the market are very slim. For every successful product, hundreds of others crash and burn, never to be heard from again. It is a serious risk you are undertaking.
How can one brand compete amid all that chaos? And how can a new brand get known? Through product differentiation. The question is, what can your good or service do that is different and sets it apart? Each brand and company tries to get consumers to recognize that there is something “different” about what it offers, something that no other good or service on the market offers or does.
Of course, this differentiation doesn’t just happen. It takes a focused, concerted effort that comes through two very important steps: testing your product and advertising your product.
Product Testing
Surely you’re familiar with the idea of product testing. This is when a new product — a good or service, typically — is tried out by product testers, who use the product and report their overall experience with it. Depending on the product in question this product testing can take an almost infinite number of forms, but in each case the idea is to see how people react when consuming the product. Do they like it? Why? Do they not like it? Why? What unforeseen reactions or problems occurred when using the product? What did they think of its appearance, feel, look, smell, etc?
To an extent, no question is ridiculous when it comes to product testing. By putting your brand through these trials you can get a much clearer idea of just how the general public feel about it.
Of course, one of the main goals of this phase is to fix any problems that might arise. Do things break easily? Does it taste bad? Do people hate the experience of using the product? Many focus group sessions will happen before a brand decides its product is “just right.”
That’s not the only function this product testing serves, however. Along the way you’ll start to develop an idea of how your product is perceived. What feelings do people have when they think about your product? What do they feel it can offer them? How does it comes across as original, even if it is similar to other products on the market? What is different about your brand and your product?
Knowing which demographics your brand appeals to also matters. Are you looking to attract a younger crowd? How do they see your brand versus people in older age brackets? What about those with kids? Does your product have a parental seal of approval?
The answers to these questions can seem trivial, but often they build the biggest case in how a brand can eventually be differentiated to stand out in a crowded field. But it is not enough: to capitalize on the uniqueness that your product offers you also have to make people aware of it. This is where advertising your product comes into play.
Advertising Your Product
It doesn’t matter how good your product is or how revolutionary the service you provide may be — if no one knows about it, your brand will not survive. This is where advertising comes into play. And this is where we at PTPA media shine. Whether you’re looking to do an old-fashioned email campaign or try video marketing, our experienced and creative teams know how to develop and implement the best product marketing ideas to get the best out of your product advertising.
But we’re more than just a think tank of great ideas. At PTPA media, we recognize the importance of ideals. They make a company run, but they also help build trust between customers and brands. Sure, a client might try a new product to see what it is like, but that client will only come back and turn into a loyal customer if they feel that, on some level, they share similar values with that brand. This is why we at PTPA Media work to market your entire brand. It is not just about getting your product out there; it is about finding those who share similar passions and beliefs.
PTPA stands for “Parent Tested, Parent Approved.” This name showcases the ideals we consider to be important. If this sounds important to you, please don’t hesitate to contact us at PTPA Media today to see how we can work together. When it comes to marketing innovation, we stand at the forefront. We can help you put together a plan to differentiate your product through product testing and brand imaging. Contact us today!