Unlocking Demand: The Art of Igniting Dormant Seeds in Product Development”

Methods of germinating the “demand” : ignition, turning potential needs into real demands.

Did you launched a new product to the market, expecting a warm welcome from users. However, it turned out to be another “dud.”  Frustrated? You clearly conducted user research, validating this as a genuine need, so why is it still a dud, right?

To solve the “what to do” question, we first need to understand its essence. Before you stop this product, discard this demand, you need to understand one thing: the seed of demand not only has distinctions between “true” and “false” but also between “dormant” and “activated.” In this world, there is a kind of seed called the “dormant true seed.”

 Ignition

How to do it specifically? Since genuine needs, including “product features” and “emotional appeals,” should be ignited, you should start from these two aspects.

First, ignite the demand for “product features.”

The best way to ignite user demand for features is probably through “experience.” Lets review how Nestle did it.

Nestle has a capsule coffee machine called Nespresso, which can easily make aromatic coffee. However, this coffee machine didn’t sell well after its invention in the 1970s. The Nestle management once thought, is this a “false seed”? At that time, CEO Maohé resisted the pressure and gave Nespresso another chance.

The Nespresso team conducted user research and found that only 1% of espresso enthusiasts had heard of Nespresso, but the majority of those who had purchased Nespresso really liked the product. They realized that the “needs” of most potential users were dormant and needed to be ignited.

So, they decided to collaborate with more airlines, equipping this coffee machine in the first-class cabins of 1100 planes; allowing 3.5 million premium passengers to taste coffee made by Nespresso, activating the dormant demand of users.

At the same time, they instructed retailers not only to display Nespresso coffee machines but also to let users experience using the coffee machine and taste the coffee. Data showed that stores providing “experiences” had coffee machine sales six times higher than those just displaying.

Then Nestle launched “boutique stores,” which is what we call “brand experience stores” today. After the boutique stores were introduced, Nespresso’s sales significantly increased. In 2001, sales grew by 28%, the second year by 34%, the third year by 37%, and the fourth year by 42%.

By providing an opportunity for customers to fall in love with your product through experience, many people really do fall in love with it.

Second, ignite the demand for “emotional appeals.”

The best way to ignite user demand for emotions is probably through “marketing.”

Nestle Nespresso not only opened experience stores but also redesigned the appearance of the coffee machine, transforming it from a traditional square black box into an extremely sexy shape, to ignite users’ “emotional appeals.”

Then, Nestle chose to advertise this “Armani in the coffee machine” on expensive but more expressive television media.

The gap between hearing about a product and actually buying it is the power of demand ignition. Demand ignition works by making customers overcome old inertia while reinforcing the magic of the product. Nestle’s TV ads once again proved that “appearance is justice.” After the first ad aired during Christmas, sales quickly multiplied.

The role of television ads tells us: many people actually have a demand for this coffee machine; they just don’t know it themselves. Television ads, through emotional appeals, activated dormant potential demands.

This is the “ignition power.” Today, I am using Nestle’s capsule coffee machine myself. I want to thank Maohé for not treating the capsule coffee machine as a “false seed” to be discarded but choosing to “ignite” it. The magic product itself is precious, but without ignition power, even if the magic is strong, it may not attract much demand.