Can we make our ancestors buy chocolate?

Do you think our ancestors craved chocolate?

Inherently, as Homo Sapiens, we probably never wanted chocolate. But today, every kid wants chocolate, every parent wants chocolate. We gift each other chocolate boxes in Diwali. Everything comes in chocolate flavour. And just like that, slowly, over the years, demand was generated for chocolate. So, what is demand generation and how is it done?

The need for chocolate was created, not inherent.

Most of our needs today are 'created needs'.

These needs are created and fulfilled by marketing through demand generation.

We think marketing is very 'buy me buy me buy me' 'check out this offer!!!'. Making people buy things they don't want, making people want things they don't need. It's not like that.

Marketing does demand generation, yes, but it does that by creating value.

There was this really good campaign by McDonalds - 'do you want fries with that?'; where they upsold fries with every order.

It's the perfect example to understand how demand generation is done.

Demand generation has 3 components:

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1. The Product

The product or service we're selling has to be right. The right product market fit, the right positioning, the right value proposition for the right customer is fundamental to any marketing effort.

For our McD example, fries are delicious, great product on it's own. But that's not enough. What is, is that they're also the perfect side dish, giving the right value to a person buying a burger. They could not have sold McFlurry through this exact same campaign, because it's not the right product.

How do we identify the right product? We ask these questions-

Who is the consumer? [Target audience] What is their end goal and what do they need to fulfil that goal? [Job to be done / need] When do they need it? Where do they need it? [Context] Is my product the best solution for the consumer's need in their context?

What is the best way to price and distribute my product? [Pricing & distribution strategy] What is my product's USP (unique selling proposition) that makes it stand out from competitors? [Product differentiation] What is my product's value proposition? [Value proposition statement]

A product is not just an object, it's the entire context of us creating value through that object.

2. Communication

We did not know we wanted fries until the option was offered to us. What they did was awareness at the right touchpoint in the right context. This is the fun part, the part where real marketing magic happens.

Based on the marketing-sales cycle, we pick the touchpoint where the customer is most receptive, communicate our value proposition suited to their context - and they're sold!

Using the right channel with the right messaging in the right context is the magic.

The right context for our target audience is when they are most likely to make a purchase decision. Eg- a dentists office vs a kids carnival: as contexts for making a decision of buying chocolate (see it?)

The right channel is a medium of communication the target audience value for consuming information related to the product or their job to be done. Eg- an instagram reel vs a research paper on information related to chocolate.

The right messaging communicates the product value proposition and USP. Eg- 'The creamiest homemade chocolate in Bangalore' vs 'Tasty chocolate'.

3. Conversion Incentive

There can be three types of incentive - time, effort and money. Any of these can be leveraged to push the customer towards the purchase faster.

In this case, the incentive is time and effort. They made it frictionless for us to just get fries added to the order, the cashier adding it quickly on their own at the ordering counter; perhaps meal combos had monetary incentives too. It was very easy and very convenient to get fries added. This additional value, given with the value of the original product, creates a sense of 'it's worth it'.

Imagine the cashier did not offer to add fries, how many of us would have actually ended up adding fries to our order? Probably very few. The incentive for purchase can really boost sales by providing additional value.

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And, everyone does this. Just when we're done buying vegetables, the seller asks if we want coriander, potatoes or onions; and you realise that you probably DO need it. Cafes become photogenic; making influencers and users post aesthetic pictures, and then we want to go to cute cafes too.

As a marketer, we have to realise that sometimes the customer doesn't know they need us. We have to show them our value, and voila! Demand is generated.

This holds true not just for B2C contexts, but for B2B as well. Even when the decisions are not driven by impulse. The same three pointers hold true, everything just happens at a larger scale. The right time may not be 4 PM, it may be a broader 'end of Q1'. The right channel might be an elaborate email with a deck instead of an app notification. But at its core, it's the same.

Demand generation for a never-seen-before product (like chocolate for our ancestors) is difficult, but not impossible. Maybe we need to show people that cocoa beans can become chocolate. Maybe we need to make it non-perishable, so it's feasible and profitable for traders. Maybe we need to give it to the rich ancestors first, so it is seen as a respectable luxury item. It needs thought, but it's doable.

So, yes, it is possible to come up with a demand generation plan for chocolate for our ancestors; and make them buy chocolate.

(That'll be a super fun discussion - reach out and let's brainstorm!)