I’m sharing this publicly for the first time. This has only been available to my clients previously.

Here is the process a company has to go through to create consumer evangelists for its products. History and research says that these steps must happen in order, meaning you can’tattain any one of the steps until all of the ones before it are attained.

The visual model that accompanies this process is here.

I. The Product:

If your product isn’t excellent, there is no point in doing anything else. The good news is that a majority of mainstream consumer electronics devices are excellent.

1. The device must be terrific. It must do what it says it does.
2. It must be easy-to-use and intuitive.
3. Pricing must be appropriate. Too high and you price yourself out of the market. Too low, and consumers assume a lack of value.
4. Your product must be widely available at retail, offline and online.

II. Understanding Consumers:

Although most manufacturers perform some surveys and focus groups,  as a rule, manufacturers do not understand their consumers as described here.

1. You must understand what consumers want from your product category. What life improvement are they looking for when considering your device?
2. You need insight on how consumers use your kind of devices. Who uses the device? What do they do with it? Which features are used most? Which ones are underused? Why?
3. You have to know how people think about your style of products. What words do they use when talking about your product and its various features? This becomes your marketing language. This is the rate-determining step, and the one 9 of 10 manufacturers do not have insight on.

III. Developing Powerful Consumer Education:

Now that you know what consumer do, want, and how they think,  it’s time to develop your education and messaging.

1. Your must use powerful, effective language to talk about your products. What language fits this bill? The same language your consumers use! And the opposite of the language your engineers use.
2. Develop three home-run points of excitement and energy (in your customers’ words) about your device, and communicate them every time you talk about it.
3. You must create unquestionable perceived value. In recent weeks, Apple did this with its iPad announcement, but Google did not accomplish this with its Buzz launch.

IV: Wide-reaching Communication Platforms:

You must utilize powerful education platforms. Think huge.

1. Mainstream media is where you want to be. Message boards and blogs will not help you develop mainstream consumers. Television and radio is still where the magic happens when it comes to reaching consumers quickly and effectively.
2. Your packaging and manuals are leading consumer education vehicles. Formulate them with the same attention as you
3. Forget about press releases, most of which are startlingly bad. They’re almost guaranteed to get lost in the shuffle with reporters, editors, hosts, etc. Which means your information never even makes to consumers most of the time. Personal notes and phone calls to media members you have relationships with are infinitely more effective.
4. For goodness sake, don’t put the success or failure of your multi-million dollar investment into the hands of young public relations associates.

V. Targeting The Right Consumers:

All consumers are not created equally.

1. You must attain mainstream consumers. Early adopters are risky because great products often die with them. Ironically far more companies are courting early adopters than mainstream consumers. There is great competition for their attention. Talk to mainstream America from Day One.
2. Do everything possible to create word-of-mouth. For example, Apple doesn’t talk to the media. The information gap, strategically created by Apple, is filled by rumors, expectations, energy,  and buzz.
3. Once word-of-mouth is attained, nurture it. Give people a reason to keep talking. Give the fire oxygen, wind and dry wood, and turn it into a wildfire.

Do all of the above, in order, and you will create:

EVANGELISTS — THE HOLY GRAIL IN OUR INDUSTRY.

Some key points:

• Only one company has evangelists today: Apple.
• Google is close, but is spread too thin in an industry that people have a naturally more difficult time getting passionate about (search, productivity, clouds, etc.)
• No matter where you are in the process above — beginning, middle or end — you must invest and innovate simply to maintain your position. Gravity pushes you up the list here. Do nothing, and you will lose energy, excitement, and ultimately consumers. See TiVo, Palm, and Microsoft. (There are many more.)