When your product is finally on the market, like everyone else, you’ll want it to sell rather quickly.  In fact, the majority of your time and money will likely go towards getting your product into the hands of as many customers as possible.  However, what many product business owners find out, is that this growth is slower than they’d hoped.

If you’ve found yourself in one of the following situations, then this article is for you.

• Your product company is growing, but slower than you’d hoped
• Your product lacks sex appeal when compared with other products
• You want your customer base to grow more rapidly

First and foremost, a product company that is a little boring can be hugely successful.  However, if your product company is growing, but not fast enough for your liking there is something you can do.

If done correctly, layering a trend on top of your product solution can help you grow more quickly.

If you want your product to grow more quickly, you may be able to take advantage of a growing trend in your market.  Before we dive into this strategy, I want to caution you. If you don’t do this properly, you can actually do more harm than good.  

If you intend to take advantage of a trend in your market to help your software product company grow more quickly, it must be connected to the solution that your product provides.  

If you fail to do this properly, you will confuse the customer and fracture their trust.  Don’t mess this up. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get back to business.

In order to better demonstrate the effectiveness of this strategy, I’d like to tell you a story about how a database tools company called Redgate achieved great success using this approach.

Redgate is a company that you may not have heard of before.  They make database tools for the tech crowd. Even if you haven’t heard of them, chances are you (or one of your employers) have been a customer of theirs.

Previously, Redgate was already finding success, but they wanted to grow more quickly and increase the sense of urgency for customers to purchase their products.  They wanted to make ‘database tools’ sexier.  

So how did they do it?

They noticed a trend growing in their industry called DevOps.  In fact, I used to be a system administrator myself (fancy name for someone who manages servers) and I watched this trend grow then ultimately explode overtime.  DevOps comes from the combination of software development and technical operations. As DevOps grew in popularity and became more well defined, Redgate began to realize that their tools (solutions) fit rather well into the category.  

They decided to reposition their company as database DevOps.  The rest they say is history. Redgate was able to increase the amount of leads they received by over 100% by repositioning their product solution around a growing trend in their market.

So what does this mean for your product business and how can you take advantage of this strategy?

Study the Trends in your Market

Research growing trends in your market and figure out if any of them apply to the solution your product provides.  If they do, consider repositioning your product business around this trend. Test the new positioning with prospective customers and evaluate the results.  Does it resonate with customers and get them more excited in your product? If so, run with it and don’t look back.

Want to know how to incorporate a growing trend in your market into your product’s positioning?  Let’s talk it through, email me at sean@nxtstep.io or visit us on the web at NxtStep.

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