Launching a Brand in the United States: Target Audience and Positioning

To succeed, you need to resonate with your target audience

You need to think of your product not as a collection of physical attributes but as the solution to a problem: Brands and products must be responses to the needs of the market segment you have chosen to serve.

Unmet Need => Problem Perception => Solution Search

A brand can structure a successful commercial offer only from an in-depth analysis of this process. Obviously, needs are a function of lifestyles and the value system of each person. Homogeneous groups of people share styles and values, thus forming a market niche. To identify a niche, rather than referring to the usual criteria of gender, age, income, address, it makes much more sense to refer to values, aspirations, and lifestyles.

In a modern society, these parameters transcend gender and age differences, and to some extent, we find ourselves in a situation where even class differences are less important than they were twenty years ago.

Selling in the United States means being in tune with the value system [and therefore the needs] of the chosen niche to serve, and the product must represent a solution, an answer, to the desires and needs typical of that niche.

Innovation and alignment with consumer needs, along with the choice of the market segment to serve, are the keys to a successful entry strategy into the United States market

Market knowledge is the secret to a product and brand's success 

The study of needs involves an in-depth analysis of the target audience for new solutions to existing needs and to capture the emergence of new needs

One reason why entrepreneurs generally do not conduct (enough) market research is that they are, rightly or wrongly, convinced they know their market perfectly. Often our perceptions of customer satisfaction, their needs, and the quality of our services are wrong or not perfect.

The problem [and risk] increases if you are an Italian company wanting to sell in America. You need to go beyond hearsay and overcome your own beliefs to understand exactly what drives consumers. Preliminary market research before launching a brand aims to:

• Identify existing market segments; 
• Analyze lifestyles, values, and categories of needs;
• Decide which segments to target based on the niche size and my ability to meet the typical needs of that niche.

In America, the complexity is amplified by the fact that it is an open society, with multiple lifestyles and a much more varied and layered demographic, ethnic, and cultural composition than in Italy. To succeed in America, conducting market research and consumer analysis is essential.

The Brooklinen Example: Comforters to Calm Anxiety

How many comforter brands are there in the American market? 

So how do you differentiate yourself from a vast array of alternatives offering very similar products? By responding to a specific need of a quilt buyer. Brooklinen launched a line of quilts designed to meet an indirect desire of those who don't just go to sleep but appreciate being able to do so well. These products are described and communicated by the brand in a way that offers not just a beautiful product but also a good night's sleep to tackle stressful times.

The new quilts are designed to fit perfectly on the bed, regardless of size, and can be used with a duvet cover, which is decidedly more hygienic than a regular blanket. The technical features of these comforters, wrapped in a quilted 400-thread-count cotton fabric with an internal quilted layer containing glass microbeads, make it a product that truly addresses a specific problem, that of sleep. And provides a solution.

RELATED ARTICLES 

Launching a Brand in the United States: Adapting to the Target Audience's Lifestyle Changes
Selling Luxury Products in America: Transitioning from Traditional Luxury Targets to New Generations