Taking a profitable product into a brand new market will be daunting—particularly when it’s been designed for a selected viewers. Sakura, a Japan-based artwork and writing instruments firm, had a hunch that their merchandise, designed for the distinctive preferences of the Japanese shopper, would take off with U.S. shoppers. Nonetheless, they knew that they wanted insights to assist them perceive the market.
Amassing the suitable information and turning it into related insights to tell this type of monumental resolution will be difficult. Particularly when getting into a brand new market, it’s key to discover that house and find out about your target market.
That’s why Sakura leaned into agile analysis to energy new product improvements for the U.S.. Within the 1980’s, the corporate launched the primary ever gel pen, the Gelly Roll, in Japan, the place it was an on the spot crowd favourite. It’s simple to see why— the Gelly Roll had easy ink, vivid colours, and unimaginable versatility.
Extra lately, the corporate wished to develop its U.S. choices and department out past its conventional buyer base of artists and crafters. However Sakura’s merchandise are designed for the Japanese shopper, whose preferences will be markedly completely different from shoppers within the U.S. and in different international locations.
Though Sakura’s analysis and improvement is one in all its best strengths, they’d some vital questions. Would U.S. shoppers pay $100 for a pen? What sort of product would attraction to a basic shopper who retailers for pens for on a regular basis use?
That’s the place analysis got here to the rescue. To bridge the hole between understanding Japanese and U.S. shoppers, Sakura centered its analysis on 3 key areas: gauging shopper sentiment within the pen and writing house, validating proposed product ideas, and testing value factors for its merchandise on this new market.
1. Gauge shopper sentiment
Sakura sometimes focused its merchandise in direction of artists and crafters. Nonetheless, within the U.S., Sakura of America wished to capitalize on the chance to attraction to the mainstream US shopper. With a examine on utilization and attitudes, Sakura was capable of be taught extra concerning the variations between how artists would method buying writing instruments and the way an on a regular basis shopper would method it.
For instance, not like an artist who might have knowledgeable writing instrument, the mainstream U.S. shopper could also be on the lookout for an on a regular basis pen that they might purchase from a Walmart or Goal. Understanding shoppers’ perceptions and use circumstances not solely helps construct higher merchandise, but in addition informs compelling advertising campaigns.
2. Validate successful product concepts
Studying about goal shoppers isn’t sufficient to interrupt into a brand new market— corporations additionally must create an interesting product that prospects need to purchase. For Sakura, the success of its merchandise was confirmed in Japan. Nonetheless, this success wasn’t assured within the U.S. So, Sakura ran an idea take a look at that includes its Japanese pen product ideas with goal US prospects.
With the information that their unique pen product had attraction in America, Sakura was capable of transfer ahead with a product launch. Idea checks are, in spite of everything, a needed part of any product improvement lifecycle. They save time and investments by testing ideas, product and model names, packaging, and extra with goal audiences earlier than a full scale launch.
3. Establish the suitable value
As soon as a product thought is validated, the best way it’s marketed and bought can decide its success. Value is a key think about how a product is perceived and adopted. Typically, a product’s value is simply too low, leaving cash on the desk. Different instances, a value is likely to be too excessive, excluding key buyer segments that an organization is focusing on.
In Sakura’s case, they wished to guage whether or not their target market within the U.S. can be keen to pay for a $100 pen from Japan. By way of market analysis, Sakura of America was capable of get insights that the majority U.S. shoppers weren’t keen to pay this value, which in the end helped them modify their value factors and form future analysis and improvement efforts.
In the long run, Sakura of America was capable of create interesting merchandise for the U.S. markets whereas staying true to its model. Analysis in the end helps take the emotion out of choices, and allowed Sakura to align stakeholders all around the world to create merchandise that their shoppers love.
Sakura of America embodies how information powers consumer-led innovation. Understanding altering shopper preferences is vital to adapting to their wants, and testing new concepts with goal audiences empowers quicker and extra assured resolution making.
Making a analysis course of that powers innovation and yields the perfect outcomes to your group requires conducting analysis repeatedly, reasonably than simply when issues come up.
Having an agile analysis method can determine each points earlier than they turn out to be larger and alternatives earlier than opponents make the most of them.
As your organization grows, analysis may help you create merchandise that your prospects love and need to purchase. And as you speed up your model, you’ll want insights to assist maintain your development and discover new alternatives.
