Competitors are stepping on each other's toes, copying successful advertising creatives and marketing strategies. The market is saturated. Segmentation, selection of target groups, positioning - all these approaches are sometimes ineffective and do not work. Out of ten promotions, only one leads to an increase in demand of more than 5%.

Those who think outside the box and out of the box are the ones who come out ahead, according to marketers at HLTS South Korea. LITERALLY. Someone got the idea to put a toy in chocolate, and Kinder Surprise was born. Lego sells not a constructor, but a whole story. Cereal bars are a mix of a healthy product, cereal and a chocolate bar, a not-so-healthy snack. Transforming a trivial idea into a creative idea is the basis of lateral marketing. The developed product is not another variant or version, but a completely new product.

The basic idea of lateral marketing
Unlike traditional vertical marketing, which often focuses on specific markets or customer segments, lateral marketing seeks to go beyond the usual sales and communication channels, not replacing but complementing the tools of traditional marketing. New products and new ideas are sought and found not within a particular market, but outside of it. These combinations of products or services may seem unexpected or unconventional.

The basic idea behind lateral marketing is that by combining products or services, principles and strategies from one industry or context can be transferred to others where they may be unexpected or unconventional, yet effective.

The three steps of lateral marketing
Lateral marketing as a marketing concept was developed in 2003 by Philip Kotler. The concept itself was introduced by psychologist Edward de Bono when he described the generation of ideas ‘by restructuring creative concepts stored in memory’.

The concept of lateral marketing consists of three steps:

1. Select a focus. At this step create a kind of derivative of the selected product or service. Determine what parameter or characteristic of the product will be changed. The task is to attract the attention of your target audience. The focus can be: the market, the product itself, marketing tools (price, promotion channels).

An online shop that sells equipment offers its solutions to customers with a limited budget.

2. Shift the focus. This step breaks the logical chain of usual expectations. Something unexpected or non-standard is introduced to the market. Something that causes surprise or makes the audience think.

An online shop promotes not the product itself, but bank credit facilities for its purchase and the ease of processing the transaction. You can draw attention to the fact that your equipment does not require special skills or expensive installation services.

3. Make the connection. Returning the logical sequence in this step demonstrates how the updated or modified product or service solves a problem.

An online shop can offer ease of customisation and intuitive interfaces, thus establishing a connection between the target audience's need and the product.

Lateral marketing on a dropshipping site
The principles of lateral marketing can be useful not only when creating new products, said the managers of HLTS company. Online shops and dropshipping sites can use them to attract new customers and find new partners. Generating ‘shifted’ solutions, they use the basic techniques of lateral marketing to create a gap. This approach promotes the goods of online shops to the top of views, allows optimising advertising costs.

Substitution
Replace the usual images on the site and in advertising. For example, instead of standard photos of electronics, use fun and creative illustrations that will attract visitors' attention. Place videos about how the electronics and equipment offered on your site can be used to create DIY projects or solve unusual problems.

Exception
Remove non-competitive products from your online shop and offer only unique and exclusive products. This may appeal to customers who are looking for something special and unusual.

Combination
Create product bundles that combine multiple product categories. For example, create a ‘Smart Home for Beginners’ bundle that includes smart home gadgets such as smart lamps, smart outlets, and smart locks.

Reverse order
Offer customers the option to order products ‘first to know, then to buy’. For example, provide an option to request product information or samples before purchasing so customers can evaluate the quality of the product.

Hyperbolisation
Hyperbolisation involves a variety of experiments with familiar product characteristics. For example, if you create a ‘Novelty’ or ‘Innovation’ section, highlight and promote the unique features of each product in that section.

Inversion
Change the usual order of visitors' actions on your website. For example, offer customers the opportunity to join your affiliate programme first and then make a purchase to increase engagement and attract new affiliates.

Lateral marketing allows a product provider to influence consumer demand. HLTS Co. Ltd combines lateral marketing techniques with vertical marketing techniques. We help site partners to find dropshipping suppliers and use advanced approaches to develop their online shops or offline business.