In order for a consumer, and especially an influencer , to develop an interest in a product, they must develop a passion for the product or the packaging or the "surroundings". When we deal with the virality of products, we must differentiate whether it is primarily product features that are viral in themselves or viral packaging that is viral regardless of the product features.
There are products that have a viral effect on their own or that have certain basic conditions for their marketing with viral or word-of-mouth marketing . The following characteristics influence the speed of spread and thus the virality of products:
relative advantage
Compatibility
the possibility of testing (triability)
Obviousness of Benefit (Observability)
existing image
complexity
Cost
design
network products
The relative benefit is also referred to as "economic profitability" and describes the additional benefit that a user perceives from using the new product. This depends largely on the user themselves. The product must therefore be tailored to the wishes (needs) of the user, or the user must be convinced of an unknown advantage of using the new product. If this obviousness of the benefit is difficult to demonstrate, e.g. due to the complexity, it has a negative impact on the speed of distribution.
Some products use network effects, which mean that the relative benefit increases the more users use the product. A product such as ICQ, for example, already contains a memetic trigger through its network effect, which encourages users to invite friends and acquaintances in order to increase their own relative benefit of ICQ. The relative benefit can also be increased as part of the pricing policy through low "penetration prices" or free offers.
With such a strategy, you can quickly reach the downstream adaptation stages of the early and late majority. An example of this is the extremely rapid spread of Hotmail, which offered its product free of charge. However, simply lowering the price is not particularly creative and this measure can therefore be quickly replicated by the competition, which means that nowadays, due to the large number of special offers and "rock bottom prices", differentiation is only possible to a limited extent and therefore attention can no longer be generated via the price trigger.
The relative benefit can also depend on the increase in status that a user achieves through use. This can lead to "over-adoption". In this case, the user no longer acts rationally and ranks the desired status far above all other criteria. This then leads to unreflective adaptation regardless of price, benefit and real innovativeness. The relative benefit can also be increased through direct or indirect monetary "incentives".
As already mentioned, compatibility with the user's wishes influences the speed of spread. Compatibility with products already in use and with the user's values and attitudes also play a role. Compatibility with other innovations can also lead to rapid adaptation. If there is another innovation in the same "technological cluster", synergy effects often occur. When naming,
attention must be paid to any possible lack of compatibility, for example with other languages or values.
Another important factor is complexity. If a product is complicated to use, it has a negative impact on the speed of distribution. In addition, high complexity makes it difficult to test it (triability). An existing possibility of testing has a positive effect on the speed of distribution, as it allows users to convince themselves of the benefits and put their doubts to rest.
If the image of a product is good, many users will choose the product without reservation. The image is often linked to a brand and radiates to all of that brand's products. If the image of a brand is good, new products can be introduced more quickly and vice versa. It is relatively difficult to build an image for innovations independent of a brand in the short term. Quality is crucial for building a good image and long-term sustainability. In order to convince opinion leaders of a product, quality and design are often the decisive factors. Quality appeals to the rational-technical side of people, while design stimulates the emotional-optical side. The design itself can be a trigger if, for example, it is exceptionally spectacular or sophisticated. You have to tell other people about "this very nice product". It goes viral. Spectacular product design is a better way to attract attention and also create an image. The best example of this is Apple, which has set itself apart from the competition with its design (white laptops, white MP3 players and white headphones) and software and has turned itself into a collector's brand. These features combined with a higher price point give the brand an elite and loyal following that swears by the brand and recommends it whenever possible.
The properties of image, design and the network effects they contain can function as viral triggers. The higher the degree of virality of these properties, the less viral the campaign product needs to be designed to trigger WOM. In most cases, however, the properties mentioned initially only arouse product interest, which is an important basis.
These viral properties are relevant for WOM in general and are often the main criteria for the expert hubs and the groups of innovators and early adopters to develop interest and passion for a product or brand. The change agents (more on this in the " spread of innovations according to Rogers ") , who should be in close contact with these influential groups at every greece phone number data stage of the innovation decision process, play an important role here. In the first stage, they must convince the influential to adopt the new product. After the influential shows interest, they must be regularly provided with information. Care must be taken not to be too aggressive. In order to reduce uncertainty on the part of the influential , the change agent can hand out free copies.
Change agents must be able to judge from the perspective of the influential what their wishes are. The goal is to convince the influential of the product and carefully guide them towards adoption. In the final stages, the change agent must prevent dissonance on the part of the influential. When communicating between the influential and the change
agent, care must be taken to ensure that it is not a monologue but a dialogue. The feedback and criticism from the influential should be taken seriously, saved and used to improve the product. If the influential feels that they are not being taken seriously, they are as good as lost. If the influential is fully convinced, they will automatically spread their conviction due to their character traits and be an important effective source of WOM.