{"id":1857,"date":"2017-04-11T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-11T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/creativethirst.com\/blog\/?p=1857"},"modified":"2023-10-15T12:02:23","modified_gmt":"2023-10-15T16:02:23","slug":"what-the-top-direct-response-marketers-know-about-marketplace-sophistication-and-how-to-use-it-in-the-health-and-wellness-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creativethirst.com\/blog\/what-the-top-direct-response-marketers-know-about-marketplace-sophistication-and-how-to-use-it-in-the-health-and-wellness-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"What The Top Direct Response Marketers Know About Marketplace Sophistication And How To Use It In The Health And Wellness Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Marketers struggle with creating a self-liquidating, breakeven funnel because they don\u2019t start with an understanding of the marketplace sophistication.  It’s vital to understand this before creating a single word, pixel or code of their marketing funnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article goes deep into marketplace sophistication, but first let\u2019s recap the previous article.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We looked at marketplace awareness as a way of understanding what the market already knows and thinks as it relates to the problem, benefit and product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to examining a few strategies to uncover the level of awareness of your market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, we looked at what each level of awareness means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s a Quick Recap<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Completely Unaware<\/strong> – Your prospects are not aware of their problem or the need for a solution.
Problem Aware<\/strong> – They are only aware of the problem and nothing else.
Solution Aware<\/strong> – They are aware of the problem and the different solutions available to them.
Product Aware<\/strong> – They are aware of the problem and the solution.
Most Aware<\/strong> – They are aware of what you offer and how it meets their needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you know what the market is already aware of then you can\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Build the right marketing message (including your hook, promise, proof and benefit) and\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Build the right funnel length to\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026match the level of awareness you\u2019re targeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not a question of \u201cwhich level is your market in?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a key concept that only the truly best direct marketers know\u2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You see, every market is made up of multiple segments and every market has a segment of buyers that exists in each of the different levels of awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So in reality, the market is actually fractured across all spectrums – the completely unaware, problem, solution, product, and most aware. The key is knowing which level of awareness to design your marketing funnel for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This fact ties into your traffic source, in the direct marketing world it would be your list. To crush it with a self-liquidating marketing funnel you need to tie your traffic\/list to a specific level of awareness. Meaning there has to be an awareness-traffic match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that\u2019s only the first step, and the core foundation of awareness, the next step is\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To discover how to use Marketplace Sophistication along with awareness and tie that to Conversion Rate Optimization in the health and wellness industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But first, let\u2019s clearly define each\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Difference Between Marketplace Awareness and Marketplace Sophistication<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Marketplace awareness is simply how \u201cwell known<\/strong>\u201d your product, benefit, or problem is, in the marketplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you know that, you can align your hook, sales copy and funnel complexity with where the market already is in relationship to their awareness with your product, benefit and problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To put this into context let\u2019s look at an example of awareness for the supplement product L-arginine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking an L-arginine supplement benefits your cardiovascular health by promoting nitric oxide production, which is essential to optimal blood flow. Bodybuilders want more nitric oxide because it reduces the amount of lactic acid produced during exercise and extends the amount of time until exhaustion, meaning you can exercise longer to build more mass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bodybuilder market for L-arginine is in the completely aware stage. They are aware of what you offer and how it meets their needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if you\u2019re targeting the bodybuilder market you can\u2019t start with the benefits or explain what L-arginine does or even the nitric oxide angle. It\u2019s simply old news to this segment. They have heard it before. The better thing to do would be to develop a hook that comes at it from a different angle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that\u2019s just the marketplace awareness piece, we also have to factor in the there half and answer the question\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s The Level of Marketplace Sophistication?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Marketplace sophistication is simply the answer to – How many times has your prospect (or \u201cthe market\u201d) heard the promise before, from other products?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key here is PROMISE\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s where your product\u2019s promise fits into the already existing market\u2019s sophistication. Think of it as the \u201cproduct-market fit\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where the experienced direct marketer fits the marketplace awareness with sophistication. Just like awareness, marketplace sophistication has five stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s discover how each stage works\u2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Stage 1) Offer + Promise \/ Benefit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the first stage, you\u2019re the first to market and therefore the sophistication of the market is very low or nonexistent. The marketplace has NOT heard your promise before because there are simply no other, or not many, products or alternatives that you\u2019re competing with that exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this stage all you need to do is be direct and state your claim, nothing more, you need to just simply get them interested\u2026 Then give them an opportunity to buy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You want to be simple, direct and dramatize the claim\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example – Take L-arginine and you\u2019ll be the biggest guy in the gym.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll want to state the claim then dramatize that claim in your sales copy, ming it as powerful as possible. Then simply introduce your product and prove that it works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One important thing to note is that most of the time the market exists before our product and it is usually through innovation in technology or science that a new product is created for stage one sophistication. Viagra is a great stage one example because it literally created a new market with no competition\u2026 at first. Competition always follows stage one, which leads us to\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stage 2) Expand on the promise \/ benefit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In this next stage, the competition heats up. There may not be many competitors but they are starting to pop up and your marketing message moves from simply stating a claim to expanding on that promise. And there are several sub-stages within this stage itself\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first stage two sounds like this:
Take L-arginine to get bigger, because you\u2019ll be able to work out longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the message levels up\u2026
Take L-arginine and gain an extra quarter inch on your biceps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it does not stop there, marketers get into an expansion war, and continue to exaggerate the claims. It quickly turns into an even bigger promise\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Take L-arginine and gain an extra half an inch on your biceps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take L-arginine and gain an extra inch on your biceps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take L-arginine and gain an extra two inches on your biceps in three weeks.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The reaction to the marketing message itself begins to add sophistication to the marketplace. Thus stage two changes the market and prospects automatically discount the promise by at least half, so the claim has no choice but to get bigger and bigger until the market gets to the point where they stop believing you all together\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is at this point that the market sophistication enters stage three. Most products are created in a market that is in the 3rd or 4th stage, so pay particular attention to the next section, especially if you are in the health supplement or wellness industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stage 3) Expand the Offer Using Unique Mechanism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A stage three market has changed significantly compared to stage one and two. They have heard all the claims before and may have even tried several different products in your category. But most of all they are jaded and they are skeptical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The market needs a new way to make the old promise work and a bigger claim no longer works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So our marketing now has to expand on the offer by using a Unique Mechanism.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unique mechanism – is the reason why this will work (i.e. the proof for the claim).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes in this stage we\u2019ll see marketers enter into a competition over who can trump who\u2019s proof, layering on bigger scientific studies in the supplement industry or more proof than the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the amateur health marketers get tripped up here, getting stuck in a proof game. It is important to understand that the unique mechanism is what makes your product different. But it doesn’t have to actually be unique, it could just be a particular way the product is manufactured that no one else is talking about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The classic example is Schlitz Beer from copywriting legend Claud Hopkins, who took the beer from number five in the U.S. market to neck and neck with number one in just a few months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time all of the beer companies were talking about how “pure” their beer was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Hopkins tapped into a unique mechanism in the process Schlitz was doing to ensure purity. Which was actually the same exact process every beer company was doing but no beer company was talking about it in their marketing and advertising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key take away is that unique mechanisms already exist within your product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Unique Mechanism can be:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n