Why product-centric marketing is not enough 

Remember when marketing was still about printing a picture and price of a product in a magazine and opening hours of a brick and mortar store next to it? That’s what product-centric marketing was at its best and worst. Today, product-centric marketing alone is no longer enough, and as competition intensifies, there are many other things to consider

We decided to write this text above all for those companies that are worried about which direction to go instead of product focus.

Why on earth is product-centric marketing not enough?

It is not a question of giving up on product-centric approach, since the product is at the heart of your business. But there are (at least) two developments that make it that product-centric marketing is not enough on its own:

• The world has opened up and competition is intensifying in every industry: companies around the world are offering the same product.
• Buyers and decision makers demand more from companies. They want to know about the company’s values, production chain, service model, and other factors. This is understandable. There is so much to offer that the decision maker wants to be sure to choose the best partner.

So what should you do if product-centric approach is not enough

There are many answers to this. One quick way to outline themes is with a mind map. Write the name of your business in the middle of the paper and draw lines on the various positive themes you associate with your business. These can be domesticity, being a family business, solvency, award-winning, trusted, most durable product in testing, committed employees, etc. This is what you want to use in your marketing.

Think of things that set you apart from your competitors. Many companies are able to tell in a face-to-face discussion right away that they have, for example, the most educated workforce in the industry and the best customer satisfaction. However, this information is often left to the CEO. You should definitely put such differentiating factors at the forefront of marketing! Since product-centric marketing is not enough you have to be able to get more creative.

Now expand your mindset to include your target audience and buyer personalities. Think about what kind of problems your target audience is wrestling with. Now think about why your company is better than others to meet the challenges of your target audience.

Finally, you can still post things that your competitors aren’t talking about and that should definitely be talked about in your industry.

But does that type of marketing work, though?

A classic example of how product-centric marketing is not enough can be found in recent history. As early as the early 2000s, Nokia dominated the smartphone market, but then Apple bypassed them. What was the difference between the companies? There are many answers to this, but one distinguishing factor was that Nokia focused its marketing on the technical features of phones, or products, but Apple spoke more broadly about lifestyles and values ​​that appeal to its target audience.

Apple had recognized that the phone would not be purchased because it was good for making and sending text messages. After all, all phones can do those things. Apple realized that in order to stand out and make their product more desirable, they need to incorporate completely different images into the product than their competitors. We all know how the race went since then.

Allright, how do you get started in marketing development?

In addition to listening to everything written above, we will happily help you to think about marketing messages. From us, you get content production as well as the construction of marketing campaigns.

Product-centric marketing is not enough on its own but it could expand into more holistic marketing, for example through content marketing or inbound marketing.

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