When it comes to making a sale, which do you think is more important? Educating a prospect on the realized benefits if they choose your product / service, OR sizing up your offering against the competition available in the market? The truth is they both are critical and represent a subtle shift in the type of demand you are hoping to generate.
Let’s examine the first – primary demand. You want to target primary demand when the potential client is thinking about trying your product / service for the first time. In a true primary demand case, none of your competitors are your direct competition. The difficulty lies in getting the customer to change the way they are currently doing things. So, the key is to educate the buyer on the idea you’re selling.
On the other hand, selective demand is when a company has a need, identified that need, and is pursuing a solution. In selling / marketing to someone with selective demand they key is relating your product or service’s features to their identified needs (thus establishing a benefit).
Miller and Heiman highlight these two types of demand in “The New Conceptual Selling.” Primary demand should be addressed first by selling the concept, then seek to differentiate your product / service and thereby address selective demand.
Source: Will May
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