Turning a revolutionary idea into a tangible product is no small feat, but once you finally have the product or service ready for people to use, the real work starts. The biggest challenge in making a game-changing product successful is marketing a new idea to an audience who has never heard of what your product can do for them.
We experienced this with our wellness brand OsteoStrong, which offers a simple way for people to significantly increase in bone density in less than 10 minutes a week. The OsteoStrong offering is both simple and complex, which made it hard to explain at first. The simple side is that in about 10 sweat-free minutes a week, our osteogenic loading device will immediately trigger their body’s natural rebuilding responses, which can increase strength, improve balance, and add bone density.
The complex part of our service is overcoming the initial disbelief many have due to years of the “no pain, no gain” stigma of the fitness industry. Our service is built on osteogenic loading, a scientifically proven concept that shows when someone resists four or more times their own body weight, the body automatically responds by rebuilding new bone and muscles. For people struggling with osteoporosis, or porous bones that therefore break easily, osteogenic loading can be life changing.
The supervised process is safe for people of any age, and the user is in complete control, so there is virtually no risk of injury. People are often hesitant to take a pill to slow osteoporosis, but our offering is completely natural and works quickly. Still, we had to address people’s natural skepticism and prove to them that it would work.
Find a succinct way to describe your product.
An osteogenic loading session at OsteoStrong isn’t “exercise” or a gym experience. We had a hard time figuring out how to explain that our brand wasn’t a gym or pill, yet it can deliver several benefits that even a daily routine of hard exercise may not. Our franchisees can go into great detail about the science of osteogenic loading and why it works to increase strength and build stronger bones, but we found it was better to find a simple way to describe the process and benefits to newcomers so they weren’t overwhelmed.
Prepare good answers to the obvious questions.
Before introducing a new product or idea, you have to be prepared for the questions everyone will ask. Some of the most frequent questions we answer about OsteoStrong are “Why is this different from exercise?” and “My mother is frail and afraid of falls, is this safe for her?” Osteoporosis is a catch-22 illness because people with poor bone health are told to exercise, yet exercise intense enough to actually build bone is likely to cause injury and still won’t build bone fast enough to make much of a difference. OsteoStrong’s solution delivers bone-building benefits to just about anyone without risk of injury. When you show people a revolutionary product or service, be ready to answer the inevitable questions about why it’s better, why it’s unique, and why it’s worth a try.
Expect the evolution to take some time.
When you have a great product that can change people’s lives beyond anything else that is available, you have to be prepared to give it time for market acceptance. People are often interested in new ideas that might help them live better, but they can get nervous when it comes down to actually trying something new. Deliver information in digestible packages that include both topline and detailed descriptions of what makes your product special and worthwhile. Be available for questions and ready with answers, and let your brand develop at a natural pace.
Offer freebies to prove your point.
Taking risks on a new product or service category can be intimidating. What if you end up investing in a dud? You can’t please everyone and there’s no way to ensure a happy client every single time, but if you know you have a winning product or service, it’s worth offering a free trial or guarantee to prove you genuinely believe in what you sell. A free trial or guarantee makes it easier to try something new. If you have a truly revolutionary, life-changing concept, giving away free trials for new clients is one of the best ways to initiate growth and inspire more-word-of-mouth from your soon-to-be happy customers.
Introducing a new product or service to the market is a tall order, but when your product revolutionizes or redefines what people thought was possible, sometimes the challenge to educating the public is equal to the gargantuan size of the brand you plan to build. Leaders are so close to the brand that sometimes it’s easy to forget what it’s like to encounter it for the first time, so continue returning to the newcomer’s perspective to keep messaging clear and strong. Maintain consistency, stay positive, and be patient. If you really have a revolutionary product, you just need time and dedication to make it the next household name.
Kyle Zagrodzky is president of OsteoStrong, the health and wellness system that boosts bone and muscle strength in less than 10 minutes a week using scientifically proven osteogenic loading concepts. OsteoStrong introduced a new era in modern fitness and aging prevention two years ago and has since helped thousands of clients between ages eight and 92 improve strength, balance, endurance, and bone density. In 2014, the brand signed commitments with nine regional developers to launch 500 new locations across America.