How to disrupt the market

Marketing a new product can be difficult at the best of times, but it’s especially hard when it has the potential to revolutionise an established market.Especially when only a decade ago, it seemed nothing would ever replace the tradition of a receiving a diamond ring as a symbol to celebrate an engagement.

Fast forward to now and the beautiful Moissanitejewel is an emergingdiamond-alternative set to revolutionise the engagement ring market. When we first launched Moissanitein our store MoiMoi Fine Jewellery thejewel was practically unknown, and we experienced real challenges trying to market our offering to a public equipped with very little awareness.

Here are my top tips for promoting a product that disrupts a traditional market:

Do not disrespect the current market

Because in the end, bad-mouthing competitors always ends up reflecting badly on you. If youtake the high-road and promote the unique benefits of your product instead, the value of your offering should speak for itself.

In our case, we avoid promoting negative features of diamonds in comparison to Moissanite. Diamond rings have a long standing tradition in the market and it’s not wise to offend the millions of women with one already on their finger.

Instead, we focus on promoting the benefits of Moissanite in that it has more brilliance, fire and lustre than any other jewel as well as undeniable value, and the fact that the process is environmentally sustainable and 100% conflict free. In doing this, you market your product as a superior alternative all while maintaining a positive approach and focus on your own company, not on competitors.

Follow the ADD Method.

(Awareness, desire, demand)

Awareness

Awareness is everything when launching a product into an established market, and educational marketing is the crucial first step to ensuring your product is a success.

A lot of the apprehension involved with the adoption of a new product is simply lack of knowledge.This was one of the biggest challenges we faced with our product, as there was little to no knowledge about Moissanite in Australia.

We were proactive and eased uncertainty by embarking on an educational campaign. And these campaigns needn’t be about overloading consumers with written information. Instead, opt for a fun, interactive and face to face approach to ease in and engage the public.

We achieved this with our Jewellery Appreciation Workshops and face to face sales, while ensuring there was crucial information readily available on the website for customers seeking more material.

We also spent time educating jewellers and valuers with in-store workshops on how to differentiate between diamond and Moissanite.Having an interactive and educational approach helps you to network within the industry, and spreads the awareness necessary for future success.

Desire

Consider the reasons why a customer would need or want your product and leverage this in your marketing messages.Just being awareisn’t enough; you need to make people desireyourproduct. As well as highlighting the benefits of the product itself, developing positioning consistent with your branding is so helpful in promoting the desirability of your product.

For instance our marketing efforts have always had a luxurious focus to reflect our high-end products.

We purposely chose our flagship store to be in Sydney’s iconic and premier Queen Victoria Building, complete with a beautiful boutique-style and high-end layout. With this physical brandingwe create a desirable product and ensured it had a lasting impression on potential consumers. Desirability doesn’t just stop there, a product and brands online presence is also vital in developing an image.

Demand

You can’t launch a product that simply doesn’t have demand.

After the awareness campaigns, assess the current market to see if any needs are present; because it’s always easier to fill a need than to create one.When we first launched, our business was centred on dress jewellery, but we soon discovered that the majority of our customers were looking for engagement rings and the bridal market had huge potential for us.

We quickly modified our collection to include engagement ring designs, wedding bands and anniversary rings, and since then80%-90% of our customers are from the bridal market.

I think this demonstrates that you don’t have to be afraid to listen to what consumers want andto modify your offering in response to that feedback.Once you have established you are meeting demand, continue to highlight the benefits.

We create consistent demand for Moissanite by emphasising its strong points- price, quality and sustainability. Once you have responded to your market and promoted the benefits- demand will follow!