The basic idea of lateral marketingUnlike 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 marketingLateral 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:
- 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.