Navigating the Challenges of Market Creation

When we settled on the idea of a new-to-market (or new-to-habit) solution a few months back, I was excited by the prospect of market creation. Unlike replacing an existing product, we would be introducing something entirely new. However, as we’ve progressed through the early stages of our go-to-market strategy, I’ve come to realize that cultivating new habits in our target audience presents a unique set of challenges:
The Challenges of Habit Creation
1. Conceptualizing the Solution in Workflow
- The Hurdle: Even with visible value adds, users must conceptualize the solution as a part of their workflow.
- Observation: While the product demo effectively showcases the value, understanding how the product fits into their workflow is less about sales persuasion and more of a user epiphany.
2. Habit Change Post-Implementation
- The Challenge: After implementation, encouraging customers to adopt the solution as a habit in their workflow is critical.
- Insights:
- Even when our solution automates a previously manual task, this habit change demands effort and mindfulness from users.
- It doesn’t happen naturally and often requires gentle nudges from our team to help users acclimate to the new solution.
The Payoff
Once we successfully navigate these phases, the results are transformative. It’s amazing to witness the solution:
- Seamlessly integrate into the workflow, fitting like a cog that had always been there.
- Begin to speak for itself, boosting efficiency and delivering tangible value.
This journey from epiphany to integration is what makes market creation both challenging and rewarding.
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