
The awareness phase is one of the most pivotal stages in the customer journey. Miss it, and you risk being left behind before the race even begins.
Awareness can be divided into two key parts: 1) generating awareness for your brand and product, and 2) building awareness around the new possibilities your technology offers. This second aspect is what we call market shaping—it's about sparking demand for something entirely new by demonstrating how your technology can support broader, previously unrecognized goals.
Market shaping often involves redefining how existing technology is applied. Think about ventilators shifting from hospital use to home care for chronic patients, or enabling laypersons to safely use defibrillators. It could also involve introducing revolutionary technology, such as AI-powered software, which has transformed healthcare from being reactive to proactive and predictive. These shifts not only meet unmet needs but also open entirely new markets.
Shaping the market and creating awareness for your brand are deeply interconnected. In my experience, they usually evolve together, setting the stage for lasting industry impact.
In this article, we’ll explore 12 strategies that can help you shape a market and create new demand, leading to significant shifts in the landscape and unlocking untapped business potential. For more insight on creating awareness for your product and brand see this article here.
How Do You Shape a Market?
Shaping the market is about setting new standards and expectations that can shift the entire marketplace, often leaving competitors scrambling to catch up. This strategy is particularly powerful if your technology is unique or hard to replicate, as it gives you a considerable lead that can be difficult for others to overcome.
At its core, market shaping prompts customers to rethink their decisions, often opening the door to new customer segments or redefining how existing technologies are used. It’s about recognizing—and capitalizing on—opportunities that were either previously unnoticed or entirely non-existent.
Whether through introducing cutting-edge technology that creates a brand-new market or altering perceptions of existing solutions, shaping the market is a step beyond mere awareness. It involves fundamentally influencing how the market thinks, behaves, and operates.
Market shaping is a long-term endeavour, requiring commitment, consistency, and patience. Moreover, it's essential to be prepared for the demand you've created. All too often, companies lay the groundwork for new market opportunities only to lose them to competitors due to supply chain failures, poorly set pricing, or operational missteps. To truly benefit from shaping a market, you need to ensure you're ready to capture the demand once it takes shape.
Here are 12 strategies to help shape a market and create demand
1. Set Bold New Expectations
Introduce new ways of working by emphasizing how your technology can impact costs and outcomes. To help customers and the wider market grasp this concept, you’ll need compelling, visionary communications and a strong narrative about the journey ahead. Link the expected benefits to their current challenges and long-term goals, while also aligning with global trends like sustainability. Clearly communicate that your technology will set a new standard for the industry.
2. Prove It with Data and Results
Conduct pilots, gather research, and quantify the real-world impact of your technology under its new use model. Once you have solid data, share it broadly. A strong communications plan is essential to ensure your message reaches the full spectrum of stakeholders who influence the market. Be loud and proud about your results—shout them from the rooftops!
3. Expose Hidden Gaps and Create Demand
Educate the market by highlighting risks or gaps that current solutions fail to address. For example, in medtech, you might point out where diagnostic tools fall short and show how predictive technologies can revolutionize healthcare by preventing illnesses before they develop too far. Bring this message to life through thought leadership at key events, testimonials from early adopters, and hands-on workshops to help potential customers see the value.
4. Influence the Rules: Lobby for Regulatory Change
Sometimes, legal barriers stand in the way of your technology’s full potential. To navigate this, you'll need to advocate for changes, whether by expanding the approved use of your product or pushing for regulations that lift existing restrictions. Collaborating with trade associations and industry societies can help move your cause forward and provide access to key people of influence but having your internal thought leaders positioned as trusted experts is also key. These internal experts need to be seen as non-commercial advisors, focused on sharing insights rather than making a sale. Their role is to bring deep technical or sector-specific knowledge to the table and provide unbiased recommendations on how industry regulations can evolve.
In cases where larger regulatory shifts are needed, you may also consider collaborating with a lobbying firm that specializes in policy change.
5. Shape Policy: Be the Expert Voice at the Table
Position yourself as an expert advisor to healthcare leaders and government agencies. Since you understand your technology best, you’re in a prime position to help shape policies that enable its use. Prepare draft policy documents, highlighting current limitations and showing how your solution can overcome them, but also be transparent about potential challenges and bring strategies to mitigate them. Align your proposed changes with broader societal goals to minimize resistance.
6. Build a Powerful Ecosystem
Shaping the market often requires collaboration among stakeholders who may not regularly interact. Accelerate progress by bringing together industry players, customers, societies, and government bodies. Hosting forums or roundtable discussions—whether public or private—can foster these important conversations and help you build the necessary alliances to drive market change.
7. Leverage expert advocates
A credible, unbiased expert who isn’t directly tied to your company can give your market-shaping efforts legitimacy. Their endorsement can amplify your message at public briefings, key events, and online platforms. You can also position your internal experts as trusted advisors who speak peer-to-peer with customers but keep them separate from commercial discussions to maintain credibility.
8. Nurture Early Adopters and Build a Community
Highlight the successes of those using your technology in innovative ways. Encourage these early adopters to share their stories, creating a sense of community and collaboration. Give them access to your in-house experts, ensuring they have the support needed to excel with your technology and continue pushing its boundaries
9. Create FOMO: Generate Buzz and Excitement
Build momentum around your technology’s expanded or alternative use to create a "fear of missing out." Celebrate key milestones and recognition through social media, news reports, and interviews. Develop a strong brand and catchy messaging to ensure a consistent story is told. Media kits and backgrounders can help spread the word and maintain buzz.
10. Connect with Emotion: Inspire and Motivate Change
Stakeholders are more likely to support change if they’re emotionally invested. Highlight how your innovations improve patient outcomes and staff well-being. Share stories of real challenges, such as late diagnoses or staff burnout, and show how your technology can alleviate these issues. Personalize these examples through 1-on-1 visits, video interviews, or other intimate storytelling formats.
11. Solve the Funding Puzzle
While shaping the market can lead to significant shifts in demand, it’s critical to understand that budgets and decision-makers may not align with your new use cases. If your strategy involves multiple stakeholders across different agencies, invest time in facilitating joint budgets and financing mechanisms, just as much as you would in lobbying for regulatory changes
12. Engage Procurement as a Strategic Partner
Procurement is often overlooked, but it plays a pivotal role in B2B markets, especially when you're trying to create or shape a new market. Even if your efforts successfully generate demand for your technology, it’s crucial that procurement processes are able to support its acquisition. This is often where companies encounter significant hurdles—not just due to financial constraints, but also because the way tenders are designed and budgets are structured can make it difficult to fund entirely new innovations.
To overcome these challenges, it's vital to engage with procurement teams early and work with them to understand how their budgeting mechanisms are structured and educate them on the specific differentiators of your solutions.
Ready to start shaping the market?
True market leadership requires vision, strategy, and a bold approach to shaping demand and influencing how entire industries operate. The 12 strategies we’ve outlined provide a framework for creating new opportunities, shifting market perceptions, and setting your brand apart.
But navigating this complex process requires more than just a roadmap—it demands expertise, insight, and a deep understanding of both your technology and the market landscape. This is where Unplain Jane comes in. Our team specializes in helping companies like yours determine the most effective strategies to not only shape markets but also unlock significant business potential.
Unplain Jane is here to help you realize your vision and transform your market presence into market leadership. Ready to shape the future? Let’s start designing your path to success today.