Diffusion of Online Innovation: Factors affecting success
Off late several startups are innovating business model by adopting web as an enabler. These online innovations are increasingly becoming bigger & better and loved by today’s mobile consumer. At times several such innovations take indefinite amount of time to catch consumer fancy. Such innovations are ahead of their time. What can a startup or marketer do to achieve Diffusion of Online Innovation. In this article BrandLoom Consulting revisits some of the time tested tips to achieve the fancy of your prospective consumer.
Why Innovation is critical for Business Ecosystem
Introduction of new products and services is vital to the consumer, marketer and the world economy. For the consumer, new products and services represent increased opportunities to satisfy personal, social and environmental needs. For the marketer, it provides and important mechanism to keep the firm competitive and profitable. For the world, it represents potential improvement in the quality of life for people.
Diffusion of Innovation
Over decades marketers have trusted a framework to accelerate the consumer acceptance of a product/service. This framework is called DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION. Over the years marketers have taken advantage of this framework and its five product characteristics that seem to influence consumer acceptance of new products/service.
- Relative Advantage: The degree to which potential customer perceive a new product as superior to existing product.
- Compatibility: The degree to which potential consumers feel a new product is consistent with their needs, values and practices.
- Complexity: The degree to which a new product is difficult to understand or use,
- Trialability: The degree to which a new product is capable of being tried on a limited basis.
- Observability: Is the ease with which a products benefits or attributes can be absorbed, imagined or described to potential consumers.
Even today these factors have not lost their value and CPG marketers consistently adopt them at different stages of product lifecycle. However with the evolution of web a lot of this has evolved.
Why Online Marketers needs to worry about Diffusion of Online Innovation
If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!”
Young, blue eyed young professionals are incubating startups and innovating business model by adopting web as an enabler. These online innovations are increasingly becoming bigger & better and loved by today’s mobile consumer.
At times such online innovative ideas take indefinite amount of time to catch consumer fancy. Such ideas are ahead of their time. Such Startups or marketers can base their marketing strategy on the evolved factors of Diffusion of Online Innovation to achieve the fancy of their prospective consumer.
The five product characteristics that seem to influence consumer acceptance of online innovation have also evolved to
- Credibility (evolved form of Observability): Credibility is exuded in websites, blogs, through our content, videos, PR, social media, or reviews. You never have a second chance to make a great first impression. Building trust is an online marketing must and first.
- Usability (evolved form of Trialability): Usability comes from appropriate and professional design, site architecture, clear navigation, call to actions, e-mails, content, and even social media.
- Visibility (evolved from Relative advantage): Visibility is critical as we build our online marketing plans. We can offer the best products and services, but if nobody knows about the product and why it is better, what’s the point? Visibility comes from a number of marketing channels, including advertising, natural search, social media marketing, online PR, or e-mail. These visibility options may require space on your Web pages, may be integrated into design, require additional budgeting, or take some technological setup.
- Sellability (evolved from Complexity): Sellability is a critical online marketing planning piece, as this is how well you show, and tell, and sell the value of your organization, products, and services. People need to understand why you or your organization are worth working with. This can come through in videos, testimonials, press releases, taglines, and photos.
- Scalability (evolved from compatibility): When we employ credibility, usability, visibility, and sellability, we reap the benefits of scalability. Online marketing efforts lasts a lifetime on the Web, building and compounding overtime. Scalable ideas are like ELSS (equity linked saving schemes). Small investments made consistently over time can grow to support your organization’s overall Web presence and marketing.
