One of the topics I get asked about most these days is how to create or at least increase demand for any type of service or product these days. Certainly, the entire situation around the novel corona virus changed quite a bit there. We’re all looking at how to best promote our services or goods in these times.
Identifying the actual type of demand for your product or service is not as simple as it would seem at all times. Usually the first thing we think why people buy from any of us is not truly why they do it. It might be why they say they buy something, but deeper motivations are usually behind that initially given reason. While in “normal” times with businesses running well it would typically be good enough to identify and cater to that kind of “on surface demand”, these times with corona virus require us to look a little deeper in order to come up with answers to the initial question of how to create or increase demand these days.
Let me illustrate this a bit with some examples:
- There is demand for “formal clothing” to wear for parties, events and high-profile evenings out. On the surface that means that because of these events there is a demand for clothing fitting to such events. While that’s certainly true I don’t believe this covers the whole story or identifies the deeper motivation. Below the surface is a motivation to stand out in such an event, to enjoy the actual event with the clothes only being a means to an end and to have a positive experience.
- In travel and tourism there is a demand to go to a certain place, stay in a certain place and therefore use such services. In this case most people acknowledge that isn’t the primary demand and realise it’s about more than it, specifically about the emotions of being in such place, taking a time out or actively enjoying it. That motivation while still strong is difficult to serve in corona times. Yet there might be – and indeed are – other ways also for such companies to cater to these motivations and the resulting demand.
- As a last example there is demand for things like home wear or cooking utensils. Especially these days this demand is quite a primary demand resulting from the basic motivation of enjoying your time at home. It is however difficult for brick and mortar businesses to capture that demand because just by providing such products they offer no differentiation over online shopping. There might be however something in the overall motivation online shopping doesn’t cater to: making the purchase an experience in and of itself. However traditional ways of brick and mortar shops offer in fact quite little to address that motivation.
By looking beyond the “surface demand” to the motivations behind it there are ways to differentiate yourself especially these days and cater to the true motivations. Even if sales don’t increase immediately you will be in the perfect position over a bit of time – usually quite a little bit of time.
Reach out to me if you would like to discuss how we can use this to improve demand for your services or products. While I won’t provide my ideas here just on my website on things like the examples above I’m more than happy to discuss in person (including remotely online).