Even a quality product won’t sell unless it is marketed correctly. The 21st-century marketplace is more competitive than ever before and grabbing consumer attention has never been more challenging. Consumers can purchase products from across the globe at the push of a button. Customers are able to easily opt-out of receiving marketing messages. In this environment, a comprehensive rethink of how products are marketed is required.

Keep reading to find out 2 small changes in your product marketing which can deliver remarkable results.

#1 Using The Product To Market Itself One of the biggest changes to the way that products are being marketed is the ability to have the product ‘market itself’. In Seth Godin’s best-selling book, “The Purple Cow”, he talks about the need to develop “something worth talking about. Worth noticing. Exceptional. New. Interesting.” In essence the product becomes the marketing itself. We can see this in products, such as the iPhone, where the quality of the design is a talking point. Johnny Ives the head of design of Apple is featured in magazine articles which gives the products he designs an enormous amount of attention.

This has been used particularly effectively in the area of SaaS (Software as a Service). A great example of how effective this tactic can be is demonstrated by the cloud storage company, Dropbox. Dropbox creates direct incentives for its customers to bring in new users for the product. When users invite their friends to join Dropbox, they receive additional storage space. Providing that additional storage space is not particularly expensive for Dropbox, so it is a cost-effective way of acquiring new customers.

Another way that product owners can leverage their product to promote itself, is by leveraging their customers’ email contacts. For example, when you join LinkedIn you are given the opportunity to import your email contacts. This is more convenient for the LinkedIn user, but it also is a great opportunity for LinkedIn to promote itself to its users’ personal networks. Phone contacts can be leveraged in much of same way. Many mobile apps ask permission to message their users’ phone books. One of the reasons that this tactic is so effective is because prospective users are more inclined to trust an invitation from someone that they know. #2 Creating Branded Content For Your Product Another significant way your product marketing should be altered is through the use of branded content. Businesses are increasingly becoming content creators to rival traditional media organizations. An example of this is the energy drink company, Red Bull. Red Bull has developed its own in-house media company. This media company publishes magazines and video documentaries. It is an integral to positioning Red Bull as the drink for adventure sports athletes and fans. The impressive impact of branded content is evidenced by the Red Bull Stratos project. The Stratos Project saw the Austrian skydiver, Felix Baumgartner, jump from the stratosphere at an incredible 39 km above the earth’s surface. Along the way Felix Baumgartner reached speeds of 1357 km/hr. The number of viewers of the video released on YouTube quickly topped 8 million and gained world-wide attention. Branded content doesn’t need to be as grandiose as the Stratos project to be effective. Branded content for your product can involve blogging or video sharing through sites such as YouTube. Williams Sonoma provides an excellent example of how blogging can be used effectively to promote products that are selling. The company has developed the “Taste Blog” which is an online lifestyle magazine that includes cooking, juicing and entertaining advice. This content complements the products that the company sells. The Taste Blog is effective because it has the quality of a digital publishing magazine. People choose to read its content because it is valuable and entertaining. Conclusions Product marketing is rapidly developing in response to the challenges of capturing the attention of consumers in a media saturated world. Traditional avenues such as television, radio, magazines and billboards are becoming increasingly outdated. In order to meet these challenges marketers need to be innovative and constantly adapting to the world around them. This can mean developing products which are able to market themselves and to create content which drives interest and engagement with consumers. Follow the 2 recommendations above to see big changes in the success of your product marketing campaigns!