Earlier, we looked at a few examples of products that were launched successfully with creative marketing strategies. This discussion asks you to identify and share effective marketing strategies from a short case study about a WePay launch and from your own experiences with successful product launches.
Instructions: Identifying WePay’s marketing strategies
- Read the case study: WePay seized an opportunity for its launch when its competitor, PayPal, received negative publicity about freezing member accounts. WePay showed up at PayPal’s annual developer conference and demonstrated a massive block of ice with frozen cash and the message ‘Paypal freezes your accounts’ in it.
WePay wanted to assure its users that it would never freeze their accounts. Within about two hours of dropping the ice, WePay’s stunt was on TechCrunch’s front page. It also featured on other popular tech sites. The publicity from the exercise resulted in: three times more conversions on the stunt landing page 225% increase in web traffic 300% increase in signups. This was achieved with a start-up’s limited marketing budget. - Answer the following questions:
- How was WePay positioned and what was its main product messaging?
- What specific factors of their marketing strategy do you think made it successful?
- Post your answers in the discussion group.
- Respond to at least one of your peers’ posts by considering the risks associated with the WePay strategy and reflecting on other examples of successful product marketing strategies that you have experienced or learned about.
WePay used a strategic marketing to send their message about their product to the proposed customers by presenting a better option which will interest the customers . They showed that they did their research well by analyzing the weak point of their competitor which was PayPal so they made a promise not to freeze their accounts.
The message was clear and concise, straight to the point, also the demonstration of the action physically made their patronage increased to 225%.
Positioning:
WePay positioned itself as a more reliable and user-friendly alternative to PayPal, knowing the inconvenience a frozen account may have caused to paypal customer’s and users, wepay has positioned itself as a better alternative to paypal my ensuring to provide them a better service attracts users. especially users that was frustrating and unsatisfied with PayPal service.
Wepay pinpointing on the fact that dy will do better than there counterpart by using the phrase
The WePay would not freeze user accounts. Made there marketing strategy even easier and better
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From their competitors analysis, WePay was able to identify the loophole in their main competitor’s inability to pay some customers as at when their funds was needed and knowing the importance of prompt payment to customers, WePay capitalized on it to be empathetic to their target audience needs, as such, a promised of prompt payment without hasles was made.
WePay’s main product messaging is a promise of timely and stress-free payment to all customers and this was done through product story.
The marketing factors that made WePay an instant success are:
1. Being empathetic to customers need of prompt release of their funds.
2. An assurance of fulfilling customers desire of prompt payment without stress.
3. Assurance that no customer’s account will be frozen.
As per the STP, Segmentation, WePay offers the same services as PayPal. It was positioned by the internal factor of, ‘ability of the consumer’ to use their services effectively without accounts getting frozen. They also saw the competitor activity made them bring in a feature their competitors didn’t have. Their main product messaging was ‘PayPal freezes your accounts’.
WePay rose at the time PayPal was having issues on freezing accounts.
WePay was positioned such that they were ploted against the obvious loophole in PayPal. Its main product messaging was “we will not freeze your account”
The specific factors that made their marketing strategy successful include:
* Studying the market to know what the consumers want and
* Creating clearly defined product narrative.
Identify and articulate the target market segments: Wepay identified Paypal as a major competitor who had greatly disrupted the market in terms of payment systems. Flexibility and availability was a key factor in the payments industry
Consider the varying competitive factors: Consumers were interested in availability, flexibility, innovative, global reach. These were some of the factors that were limited on the paypal platform.
Evaluate the competition: Wepay came up with flexibility, reduced regulatory control, giving consumers the ease of doing business as an assigned KPI.
Plot the map: It took the competition to Paypal’s terrain and dropped its competitive advantage right where it hurts.
Identify the strategic opportunity: Wepay’s competitive advantage was highlighting that they would never freeze a consumer’s access to their funds, flexibility. This became the factor that immediately worked and grew their business and improved their position in the market.
In conclusion, by effectively analysing its SWOT analysis, it was able to create a market position for itself.
We pay strategically convinced customers in a clear, concise, timely and assured points of being User friendly
Wepay was able to use SWOT analysis of its product to position itself better than paypal by simply passing descriptive visual to customers that unlike their competitor paypal, they will never freeze customers cash , a message that was virtual easy to without much budget by appearing with a frozen ice with cash inside
It should be worthy of note that, in this context, WePay was able to consider the varying competitive factor, by evaluating and identifying who their competitors were and what could be their weakness(s) while evaluating their performances. This was the possible strategy WePay used to strike PayPal out and it made them thrive in the market because they were able to identify the possible strategy opportunity.
This was where their product needed to exist in the market to receive the slightest opportunity of survival.