Market communication in the Early Market

 

Market communication in the Early Market deals with how start-ups must tailor their communication in order for their message to reach both technology enthusiasts and visionaries.

Note that the complexity of the marketing communication topic makes it too broad to cover in one article. This article of one of a series of six that covers the field of marketing communication. The full list of the titles in this series includes:

• Marketing communication overview —outlines the basic marketing communication concepts and provides the foundation for rest of the series
• Positioning —discusses the ins and outs and importance of claiming the most attractive position in your customer’s mind
• Marketing message —provides the framework for planning your marketing message throughout the technology adoption lifecycle (TALC)
• Marketing to influencers and opinion leaders —describes the process and methods to develop word of mouth marketing in the marketplace
• Market communication in the Early Market—focuses on how (and why) you should tailor your message for technology enthusiasts and visionaries
• Market communication across the Chasm and in the Bowling Alley —explains the tactics that will help you cross the Chasm

In the Early Market, your target customer is drawn from two different market segments: technology enthusiasts and visionaries. Each segment has its own way of learning about new technologies, and your communication has to take that into consideration. This means that you have to plan a separate cycle, as illustrated below, for each of your target customers.

For start-ups with limited resources, most communication efforts in the Early Market have the character of“evangelism,” in that you are trying to convert skeptics to become supporters almost exclusively through your own powers of persuasion supplemented by some evidence of your technology. This is a very demanding process, so it is important to make sure you employ the right evidence and message, and use the appropriate media to reach your target audience.

The objective of Early-Market communication is to demonstrate a strong underlying technology that has promising advantages over the status quo. At first, your audience will be made up of technology enthusiasts who review innovative technologies. From a messaging perspective, your communication goal will be to display thought leadership. Simply put, this means you need to frame a“crisis” and then demonstrate how your product proves superior to existing technologies in resolving this situation. The chart below offers suggestions of the type of evidence and media that your key message should embrace to appeal to technology enthusiasts.

After technology enthusiasts, focus on targeting visionaries, who care more about innovative products than the underlying technology. Here, your message should inform visionaries about how your product can deliver a potential advantage within their strategy. At this stage, issues about the market and the company have little affect on your communication as the visionary’s main interest lies in the innovativeness of the product itself.

To convey your message to this audience, keep in mind that different evidence and media engage visionaries than technology enthusiasts. To reach visionaries, make use of the suggested channels below.

 

References

Wiefels, P. (2002).The Chasm Companion.New York: Harper Business.

Tags: marketing-communications