101-Product Innovation Using Twitter and Tweetups – Part 2

Posted 5/4/09

Kraft Foods plans to introduce its DiGiorno flatbed pizza by offering to host Tweetups for influential users of Twitter (see Part 1 of this blog). In Part 1 of this blog, we described three major types of customer segmentation by need: Physical, Emotional and Intellectual. We also described patterns that companies use to innovate products to meet those needs including: providing information, reducing resources the customer requires for the use of the product and improving the experience the customer has with the product.

In this Part 2 of the blog, we will illustrate the segments of customer needs and the product innovations that Kraft has used with this DiGiorno introduction.

SEGMENTS KRAFT ADDRESSED

Here are some segments of customer needs that Kraft is addressing with its innovations. Each of the indented concepts is a further refinement of the concept above it:

A. Segments with Intellectual needs-customers do not know DiGiorno flatbed pizza

1. Knowledge of company and company’s product

a. Segment with limited or no familiarity with the product

1) Segment using a similar product

 

B. Segments with Emotional needs-customers need a reason to try the product

1. Segment with needs for status in the community

a. Segment with needs for affiliation

1) With group on the cutting edge

 

PRODUCT INNOVATIONS KRAFT USED WITH DIGORNO AND TWITTER

The company addresses these segments with the following patterns of product innovation. Each of the indented concepts is a further refinement of the concept above it:

A. Provide information to the segment-use Twitter to introduce the product

1. Attract attention of customers to brand.

a. Use non-traditional advertising in space available to many people

1) Use an on-line event to provide sampling opportunity

 

B. Provide a good experience for the initial customer-provide a positive incentive to try the new product

1. Associate the product with an image to increase customer pleasure in using the product

a. Suggest personal characteristics of the user of the product

1) Suggest that users of the product are trend leaders

 

C. Provide good experience for follower customers-reduce their perceived risk of trying the product

1. Increase the customer’s sense of security with the product

a. Assure customer that the product tastes good

1) Obtain third party endorsements of the product

 

To gain a greater insight into the many patterns of segmentation and product innovation, please see www.strategystreet.com/improve/segments and www.strategystreet/com/improve/products and services. There you will find over 400 concepts of segmentation of customers by need and nearly 600 concepts of product innovation initiatives. We support these concepts with over 4500 examples. These concepts and examples are brainstorming thought-starters to help you meet the challenge of innovation in your own marketplace.

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Update 2022:

The Internet can be a powerful tool to reach tech savvy consumers. In 2019, Twitter cited the following statistics gathered by Nielsen.  When brands connect with what’s happening on Twitter they see these average increases across the marketing funnel: an 18% increase in message association, an 8% increase in brand awareness, a 7% increase in brand preference and a 3% increase in purchase intent.

We suggest using the resources cited in the blog above to identify new customer needs segments and then to respond to those needs with new products and services. Please read the Directions first to make the use of these sites more efficient.

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Update 7/26

As we have researched patterns in industry evolution, we have collected several thousand examples of the three types of segmentation by need: Physical, Intellectual and Emotional needs. We have found that there are about 400 separate ways to segment customers within these three major need categories. Some recent examples of segments by need category.

PHYSICAL NEEDS

-Furniture is bulky. IKEA produced augmented reality ads that let potential customers place couches, tables and lamps directly into photos of their own rooms. No transportation or set up necessary.

-Dealers limit car test drives. BMW created branching video ads where potential customers could choose different driving scenarios, such as mountains, city and highway, to see how the car performed in each scenario. I test drive from home.

INTELLECTUAL NEEDS

-The Covid crisis created many remote workers. Airbnb created the “Live Anywhere” remote work campaign platform. They targeted remote workers with ads showing real hosts offering them long-term stays, paired with stories of people who moved abroad for a year. Travel daydreams.

-Apple ran ads inside ad targeting environments showing how other tech companies track users. They were hijacking the ad ecosystem to show users the risks the users faced.

EMOTIONAL NEEDS

-The Internet can seem impersonal. Nike pulled data from individual user’s fitness app and generated personalized video ads showing the users miles run, their progress and their individual goals. They care about me personally.

-Will I look good in this? Sephora built interactive ads where users could upload a selfie and instantly receive.

To meet the needs of these customer segments, companies follow three primary pathways to product innovation. First, the company may reduce the resources the customer requires for the use of the product. These resources include money, time, effort and health. Second, a company may improve the experience the customer has with the product. These experience-based innovations add new appeal to the senses, associate the company or the product with an image to increase the customer’s pleasure in using the product, increase the customer’s sense of security with the product or entertain the customer while he waits for or uses the product. Third, a company may add knowledge/information which helps the customer to recognize and recall the name of the company and its products, to explain the product’s relative benefits or to obtain directions on how the product should operate within a broader customer cost system.

Our research into several thousand product innovations has led us to find 600 separate innovations a company might try. Here are a few of those 600.

REDUCE RESOURCES THE CUSTOMER REQUIRES.

– Johnson Controls shifted its focus from assembling automobile seats to providing automakers with integrated interior modules and complete cockpits. Thus, the company moved from simply manufacturing a high-quality product to addressing automakers’ higher-order needs: reducing the risk and complexity of vehicle design and improving the efficiency of vehicle assembly.

-An innovative company helped develop minimally invasive surgery using its products. This surgical product allowed surgeons to replace hips on an outpatient basis, saving the patient money, time and discomfort.

ENHANCE THE EXPERIENCE

– Companies spend more time and effort focusing on the needs of their best customers to develop better relationships. Customers were chosen if they were part of the company’s elite programs. Sony Electronics launched a program called Cierge that provided free personal shoppers, early access to new gadgets, and help with home installations. British Airways launched a program called “At Your Service,” which tracked down hard to get destination tickets and even did errands around town for the customers. An upscale gym in New York helped members do everything from booking Broadway tickets to sending Mother’s Day Bouquets.

-A manufacturer of a commodity products, turned itself into a service company. It became a value-added, solutions provider to its customers by offering more customized products than its competitors, guaranteeing both quick delivery times and prompt responses to problems.

ADD KNOWLEDGE/ INFORMATION

– American Airlines Capture software programmed in the customer’s (company) travel policy, with everything from preferred airlines to who can fly first-class, so the company could spot transgressions before money was spent.

– There are currently 600 U.S. Harley Owners Group-HOG-chapters which unite Harley motorcycle riders. Harley Davidson operates the HOGs as a form of free advertising and customer support.