A "High Tech" Product Needs a "High Touch" Introduction

By Kare Anderson

A CEO's eyes will wander even as his own people demonstrate how a new technically sophisticated tool will give him a strong competitive advantage. But those same eyes will be unwaveringly attentive to a colleague's description of what that same tool has done for his company. The lesson? Put the most distinguished "human face" on your new product before you launch it and you'll reach more of your market more credibly, cost-effectively and quickly.

As marketers, you are often pressed to get many complex products, each with diverse applications, out to the world fast. This is both treacherous and exciting. For while you are ultimately responsible for selling the products, you are often not given the time and resources to conduct the most rigorous competitive analysis or establish early buy-in from significant opinion leaders. Yet without such an approach, less than stellar sales results may prevail. So what's a marketer to do?

A past MarketShare speaker, the wonderfully creative Gordon MacKenzi, suggests that you get "high" in the sky to get a larger picture from above. Consider, as well, to get "low," closer to the ground, visiting new terrain outside your habitual paths. Look for apparently unrelated trends inside and outside your business. From both the near and far perspectives, you'relikely to get the most encompassing picture.

Next, conduct a "Stakeholder Analysis" of the key people who can be affected by your product introduction -- from vendors to customers to key reporters and regulators. Identify and spend time focusing on the one or two most influential people in each sector. Make them early, successful users of the new product and let them spread the word. They'll give your product the "human face" that will make your story credible, memorable and enticing.

For each key opinion leader, explore what single application of your new product most responds to one of their hottest threats or opportunities --as they see it. What would give them the biggest, near-term, success? Remember, the higher the technology involved, the higher the touch needed to make a genuine, enduring connection with the customer and keep them committed to your product.

When first meeting with an opinion leader, leave the PowerPoint presentation at the office. Instead, grab their attention in the first two minutes. How? Without notes, demonstrate that you understand one of their biggest challenges and have a specific product or service to support them. Don't waste their time -- or your credibility -- with an overview on all your products.

Be specific. Begin with your customer's concern, even if they have not spoken about it. Take the time to confirm that you are on the right track with their perceived needs. Show your most nimble, customer-centered idea. State it so vividly that they'll use your example, even if they don't yet agree with it. Then get clear on what specific usage of what Arthur Andersen product will provide the most valuable near-term benefit.

Whoever most vividly characterizes the product will usually determine howothers see it in their mind's eye, contemplate it and eventually discussand decide upon it. Even your competitors will instinctively use yourcharacterization if it is the most vividly memorable one that has been used in the situation. No amount of money can buy the visibility afforded by compelling characterization.

Don't try to tell the whole story to the whole world of prospective customers. More often than not, that story is too complex and too removed from their immediate interests -- so you won't get their attention en masse. Nor will you build sales momentum from expensive advertising campaigns or a road show of formal client presentations. Instead, chose a significant application for a significant market and win over the most significant possible early users. Sales will spread faster.

A good strategy is to make your top opinion leaders heroes among their peers. Provide them with "bragging rights" for your product at industry conferences. Or offer to co-author an article with you for an industry publication. This will make them look good in front of their colleagues and your product or service seem enticing to other prospective clients.

Next, select an Arthur Andersen executive at their level to meet with them. Making an avid fan of that opinion leader will create more credible, faster word-of-mouth reputation for your whole product mix than any expensive advertising or public relations campaign. Because they were smart enough to make their company more successful, they'll allow their positive quote -- and them -- to be promoted widely by you. Thus, your prospective clients will pay attention to at least that part of your new product promotion.

Less is more. Make any verbal or written information so vividly brief your audience wants more information -- and is compelled to ask for it. Always state your benefit first and then elaborate how your service or product generates that benefit. Most sales and promotional messages are stated in the reverse order and thus don't get the client's attention quickly. So be sure to state your message in terms of the "main differentiating benefit" that your approach has for them.

Remember, if you make it too complex to work with you, your prospective clients will almost always back off -- even if they would benefit from using your services. Give them the most essential details upfront so they don't have to dig for them. And don't forget to provide vivid, pertinent examples --- including best and worst case scenarios -- using their company's situation.

Win a few heroes over to your products early so they can be ardent allies at the center of your unfolding marketing campaign. I suspect that you will gain more customers, not to mention more satisfaction.

Recruit the Most Unversally Powerful Partners

Look for opportunities to involve the three universally most powerful kinds of partners: banks, gas stations and grocery stores. Why? Because they are the three kinds of outlets that most peole are most likely to frequent at least once a month. Each are changing and getting into each other's businesses. Gas stations are adding convenience stores, for example. some are already cross-promoting by sharing space, such as banks in supermarkets. Regardless of their evolution, these are the three most valuable kinds of partners you can recruit to reach your mass market of customer. Note, for example, the gas station-related "easy example", we described earlier.

First Step: Know Your Kind of Client

Look at the kinds of people most likely to use your massage services, both in terms of the how they make the decision to use your service, and in the larger picture of how they lead their lives. Once you see how they spend their time and money, yo uwill get ideas about the kind of businesses to approach about partnering on a cross-promotion. For example, many of your kind of steady clients probably have some characteristics in common" such as sex, age, ethnicity, other places they also frequent, reading choices, other places they go regularly, cause they support, clothes they wear, etc.

These questions may help you gather a detailed profile of your kind of customer so you can look for the most beneficial partners and create the most valued cross-promotions:

Recruit the Best Cross-Promotional Partners

Since you want to reach more prospective clients, more frequently, with less effort and cost, with informative messages or offers that pull people to your service, look for the partners that will best help you do that.

Choose partners on the basis of the customers they serve and their reputation, rather than the actual products or services they provide. For example, a moving company owner cross-promoted with a local storage facility, remodelling contractor and phone service provider to create a brochure they distributed to their prospects, shopper newspaper (as a guest column with an offer at the end to mail 20 additional tips, thus gathering a database of prospects for all partners), vendors and placed on their web sites: "Twenty Tips to Making Your Home Move Less Stressful". Choose the partnering organizations with whom you could join forces to offer a jointly created brochure.

Your best cross-promotional partners are organizations that:

When approaching a potential cross-promotional partner, begin by indicating that you want to explroe a method that would enable them to reach more of their kind of customers while spending the same amount or less time and money. Then ask to describe one simple kind of cross-promotion you might try first, describing clearly what the benefits and the responsibilities would be.

Make News With Unlikely Allies!

Partner with people outside your industry or profession and you are even more likely to attract media coverage.. Plus your message or offer appears (through your partners) where your competition is not even in sight. . Example: partners to reach a local market of middle class women, ages 30-55: realty, health clinic, dry cleaner, and beauty salon.

* Two ways to learn more: 1. Order a book and audiotape on cross-promotions by mailing a $29 check (covers tax, shipping and handling) to "Kare Anderson" at The CCG, 15 Sausalito Blvd., Sausalito, CA 94965 2464

2. Sign up for Kare's free, pithy, online monthly bulletin of ideas, "Say It Better," and see many other articles at her web site: http://www.sayitbetter.com

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