We hope you have not been living under a rock and you must have heard about the latest sensation that has taken the internet by storm: Pokémon Go. Three weeks since its release and it has already broken a bunch of records. According to SensorTower, Pokémon Go already crossed 50 million downloads in just 19 days. Not only that, it has only been released in the US, Australia, New Zealand and majority of countries in Europe.
Nintendo’s valuation has increased by leaps and bounds. And, it has not yet been released in many countries officially.
As a marketer, you might wonder how this niche mobile-game shot to fame so easily. Well, the answer is marketing. There are so many marketing lessons that a marketer can learn from this product. Let us take a look at those lessons.
Lesson #1: Effective Branding goes a long way.
To sell a product, you require good branding. You can sell just about anything with good branding. The main attraction of Pokémon is how it takes advantage of the GPS feature of your phone. But, this is not the first time that a mobile-game has done so.
Wait, what?
Yeah, games like Ingress, Zombies, Run etc. all came out before Pokémon Go. But how many people have heard of it, let alone downloaded it? Our guess would be very few. These games did not achieve this level of mainstream success.
Why?
Because it was not involved with one of the most recognizable brands. Pokémon is a brand name that has been there since the past two decades. It has constantly developed and nurtured itself through various forms of media. That presence alone has helped them garner such a lot of attention. Without their branding, this would have never happened.
Lesson #2: Timing is Everything.
As a marketer, you will definitely agree that timing is key for a successful marketing campaign. This game launched right at a point where most children are having their holidays and have an excuse to go out at the drop of a hat. If this same game was launched somewhere during winter, most countries in Europe or in North America would have had a slow reception. Also, launching the game at this point of time fulfils a long-term goal. Kids who grew up with Pokémon are now adults in their 20s and have buying power, as well as means to travel.
Lesson #3: It’s all about Social Proof.
Social media marketing is important. But what’s more important than that is people talking about your product. More importantly giving positive reviews of your product. Pokémon Go’s success partly lies on the social media networks and their users. When people started seeing their friends talking about this highly interesting game, immediately they started downloading it. This too because it is a Pokémon game (this takes us back to Lesson #1).
Lesson #4: Effective branding breeds loyalty.
After a brand has successfully established itself, it will garner a loyal customer base. We can notice a similar situation with Pokémon Go as well. The target audience of the game had grown up in an era largely dominated by Pokémon and Pokémon products. Now they are getting a chance to finally live the Pokémon dream, to relive their childhood once more. This again takes us back to Pokémon’s effective branding strategy.
Lesson #5: You don’t always need an Ad Budget.
If you want your product to succeed, you must have effective marketing strategies in place. Blowing your entire budget in advertising will not help your cause if you cannot market your product. Did you see any Pokémon Go ads before its launch? No. Then how come did it achieve success? The answer is effective marketing. By building a brand people can blindly trust, they know that if they build a quality product, their customers will become their advertisers, in turn their advertisement.
Lesson #6: Reward your Customers
In order to keep your customers loyal and satisfied, you need to invest in them. You need to offer them services, products, gifts at competitive pricing so that you can retain them. You need to build a sense of security so that your customers can trust you and be loyal to your brand. Because if your customers are satisfied, they will bring in more customers. So, it is extremely important to reward your ongoing investment. In Pokémon Go, players are constantly rewarded with bonuses depending on their activity. That’s why players keep on playing, in the hope that they will continue to be rewarded for playing the game.
Lesson #7: Low Learning Curve=High Adoption
When it comes to marketing a product, it is extremely important that the product does not appear complicated to the target audience. Pokémon Go’s success partially lies on the fact that it does not need a formal tutorial to get started. It is fairly easy to play and all you need to do is check your phone from time to time. Any similar product that has achieved a level of success would exhibit similar features.
Once you put these lessons to use, you will achieve an increased amount of customer retention. Start with a good product, establish your brand, let users speak about how good your product is, repeat the cycle, and soon you will achieve success.