How to use online forums as a new channel to introduce products to early adopters?Start-up Hardware Producers that do not have extensive distribution channels are turning to expert online forums and review sties where their promote their new product offerings to early adopters and are increasingly relying on word of mouth in the forums to create demand for their products. This page discusses the benefits of using such a channel for marketing and sales.Forums such as http://www.avsforum.com/ and http://www.avforums.com/ and more local forums are popular with the IT gadget buyers. Online IT gadget news blog such as http://www.engadget.com/ and Gizmodo.com are also very popular for marketing new products. The comments section of these blogs are very interesting reads, for the firms promoting their product. Their get an instant reaction from the potential buyers whether i.e the price setting and the if the product offering is appealing to them in the first place. 7 Benefits for the firm in using Forum marketing 1. Early Adaptors get the satisfaction of interacting directly with the producers and Product Managers, They get instant satisfaction by getting the product delivered directly to them and not having to read about the product first and then waiting and waiting for the distributors and their resellers to get convinced and stock up on the products. And then having to go to a sales person that does not know jack about the new product. 2. The producers and the product mangers get valuable consumer insights from the day before the products has launched and do not need to rely on the grapevine from the resellers and distributors but get to interact and get feedback direct from the all important early adopters. 3. The forum community with its rankings of numbers of posts give an creditability to the other forum readers that the person knows what the are talking about, and in a way the often read poster that endorse the new product in a way become ambassadors and give their validity to the products new attributes and validity in the market place. 4. The early feedback can help the product manager as we have seen with the WD TV beta release of the new firmware, to correct errors in the final product and launch new firmware faster and avoid public and technologies pr problem before the product really takes off in traditional retail. 5. The openness to the forums and the early adopters help the product manager to understand what is needed in future product introductions and can generate a very good market understanding of what are must have features among early adopters. 6. The buzz of the new product on the forum also lead to that some journalists following the forums increases the chance that they write an article about them when the receive the corresponding press releases and products for testing. 7. Early adopters get the attention from the forum or Blogs like engadget.com, Their interest is stirred up by the information of the webpage and in the forum discussions, So is the desire by looking at the new specs and compatibles of the products, Lastly be being able to order directly and with prelaunch specials like free add on or intro discount the adopters get to perform their action instantly. Is Online Fourms and direct sales a new way to introduce products to early adopters? |
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