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HOW TO PREDICT THE FUTURE OF YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE   Recently a national trade magazine asked me to comment on how 'marketing psychology' could help manufacturers better estimate whether a product would succeed or fail -- before they spent a lot of money on its production and marketing roll-out. Without a Web connection to the future no one can predict that with much confidence. There are over 33,000 new products introduced each year, mostly grocery and health/beauty products. And nearly all of them -- over 85% -- fail to meet their sales goals! Many of these products are just "new and improved" versions of current products; few are really innovative.  But all have marketing budgets to convince consumers 'this is a product you can't live without!' WHAT MONEY CAN'T BUY The failure of most new products proves that money can't buy success. There are some products with tiny marketing budgets, like tasty Veggie Stix made by the family-owned Good Health company, which can't keep up with demand. Then there's Crystal Pepsi. Consumers didn't care that Pepsi had spent $100 million. They looked at it on the shelf, then reached for "real" carmel-colored Pepsi. Robert McMath and Thom Forbes wrote a fascinating book about product failures called "What Were They Thinking?" which lists some other notable marketing disasters. For example, did you ever buy rabbit jerky or cucumber deodorant? How about Hot Scoop Microwave Ice Cream Sundae? Or Clairol's Look of Buttermilk Shampoo? Of course, the legendary failures of New Coke and McDonald's Arch Deluxe, despite multimillion dollar advertising budgets, are so staggering that we use them as case studies in marketing classrooms. The lesson here is best summed up in an aphorism we've all known since childhood, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." So the real question the magazine editor had asked me was, "How do you get the horse to drink?" That's the question most companies ask. Its the wrong question. Marketing Psychology tells us that the more productive questions are, "Why does the horse drink?" and "What would keep him from drinking?" The first question focuses on the buyer's "needs," "wants" and "desires," while the second is concerned with the buyer's "fears." Those two questions are key to a realistic prediction about any new product. HOW ITS DONE Look at Go-Gurt, for example, which some of my grad students in Buyer Behavior analyzed. What they found should be enlightening for any marketer. General Mills' Go-Gurt is yogurt in soft plastic tubes. It comes in a variety of flavors like Chill Out Cherry, Berry Blue Blast, and Banana Burst. Its target market are active grade school children and, of course, their moms. The packaging features cartoon character kids having fun skateboarding while gripping several colorful Go-Gurt "portable yogurt" sticks. Go-Gurt is so successful that Time Magazine reported, "It is the fastest-selling yogurt product ever released . . . The company has sold $340 million worth of Go-Gurt . . . dethroning Dannon as the nation's leading yogurt maker." The Go-Gurt marketing campaign naturally has two target groups of buyers -- the kids who eat it and the moms who pay for it. Both have distinct sets of psychological buying motivations. For example, kids want a good-tasting sweet snack that's simple to eat, easily carried without spilling, and has a 'cool' image. Moms want a healthy snack that will please her child, won't spoil or spill, doesn't take any time to prepare, and has good value. Underlying these surface motives are deeper, unconscious buying motivations -- ones buyers are striving to satisfy. Children certainly want a sweet snack, but they also want adventure, to feel admired by peers, to feel special by using products especially designed for them, to not feel like a 'little kid,' etc. Sweet snacks which feed their psyche as well as their stomach will have the marketing edge. WHY IT WORKS How does Go-Gurt feed their psyche? Look at the packaging. Its sweeping pattern of strong red, blue, and yellow primary colors says its exciting, not a "namby-pamby" snack. The edgy cartoon, a grinning boy with a modern haircut slashing through red space on his skateboard says this snack is for cool, active kids who others admire. Its unstated promise is that a kid will never be embarrassed by eating it in front of friends. The blond boy is squeezing purple yogurt out of a big plastic tube, showing how easy it is to eat, and that it comes in cool food colors grown-ups would hate, like blue and purple. Finally, the whole image says this is a kids' product, not one which grown-ups might also like. Even the product name and flavors are cool, different, and active. GRABBING THEIR EMOTIONS Go-Gurt's entire marketing message for kids is visual. It zips by the higher-order verbal processing centers in the brain and shoots right into their emotions with a powerful message -- "This is a cool product, so you'll look cool if you use it." Sound familiar? Its the same emotional message cigarette makers have used for decades. On the other hand, Go-Gurt's message for mom is mainly verbal. While the visuals tell her that its a snack for cool kids -- and what mom doesn't want to think her kid is cool? -- its the words that satisfy her underlying buying motivations for protection, love, self-worth, and time. She reads that Go-Gurt is made by trustworthy General Mills and Yoplait, a proven leader in high quality yogurt. She knows the product and package look so cool that her child will like it, which will make her feel loved and happy. She knows yogurt is a healthy snack, one which a Good Mother would select. And the "portable yogurt" label suggests this product won't demand any of her scarce time to prepare, so she'll save time without feeling guilty.   Go-Gurt's advertising and marketing all play on these same deep psychological themes. The manufacturers haven't tried to make the horse drink, but created a product that satisfies an existing "thirst" so the horse wants to drink. That's why Go-Gurt is a great example of psychological marketing. How about your products? The key to predicting product success is hidden in your buyer's mind. So look there first. After all, who wants to be remembered for trying to sell Toaster Eggs or edible deodorant?   (c) Gary Witt, 2001    Home * Solve My Problem * About Us * Free Information * Products & Services * * Free Newsletter * Contact Us * Index * Rewards *   NOTICE: All material on this site is Copyrighted, and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Marketing Psychology Group, Inc., Scottsdale, Arizona. If quoting text, please provide attribution. Thank you. job buyer buyer 2 buyer 3 buyer 4