Today we are sharing our learnings from the Nordic launch of iRobot Roomba i7+ together with Ida Birgitte Holm, Product Manager for iRobot (Witt A/S) in the Nordic region. Learn how to successfully engage your potential customers in 5 steps.

The setup of the launch of the new robot innovation i7+ has been a very interesting case. How could you explain new smart features for the market in an educational way? And how could genuine content produced by potential customers lift the brands metric to a new dimension for such a premium brand? We sat down with Ida Birgitte Holm that represents iRobot Roomba in Scandinavia, England and Ireland.

How User Generated Content lifts the communication

- iRobot Roomba premium is a high price point SKU and for most people this will affect their purchasing decision a lot. When applying User Generated Content you create confidence in the product and its capabilities, so the price will be less important. You'll be able to recognise yourself in the material and therefore your barriers towards the product will also be lowered. The end consumer will understand the product and its functions better and therefore they are closer to a purchase.

“People trust people. Brands will experience more recognition in a shorter time line, because word of mouth is strong.”

What values has the collaboration with Smartson brought to Witt A/S and iRobot in the Nordic region?

- There are a lot of benefits in the collaboration. You can communicate your product directly into the target group and get people talking about it immediately when it hits the market. For iRobot and Witt, it has added great value that we are actually able to communicate in local languages with local people, so the end consumer will identify themselves with the person in the advertisement, says Ida Birgitte.

Case learnings: 5 tips for a launch using consumer recommendations

1. Work customer centric - invite your potential buyers to test and share in an early stage

Brands that are committed to customer centricity are passionate and truly believe the customer comes first. During the launch of iRobot Roomba i7+ we met Ken Bazydola, Director of Product Management at iRobot. Via Smartson’s platform Ken can talk directly to potential customers and invite them to test and then share their own stories. This is how brands should build relationships to maximise the customers’ product and/or service experience.

Values

✓ Intive potential customers at an early stage

✓ Focus on creating personal relationships with the target consumer group

2. Engage the customers as co-creators

During the launch we engaged Nordic customers to share their own stories via social media and word of mouth. This helps other customers to learn more about the product’s features and benefits from a peer to peer perspective. The social posts and video content have a higher engagement rate compared to traditional marketing. iRobot is a well used hashtag globally - and with this engagement from the customers we could read directly about the product in local languages by local customers.

Values

✓ Let the customers share their experiences with one another

✓ Trust your customers and let them spread the word about your brand and product

3. Amplify the videos to a larger crowd

The co-creators main mission could be different depending on your product category or services. For iRobot 7+ we collected the User Generated Videos via our platform - the videos were edited for each market with multiple versions created to suit all platforms they could be used on. It is great content to use on your company's webpage with e-tailers and of course via organic and paid media.

Values

✓ Use UGC for different purposes and media

✓ Ensure the content is tailored for the right platform

4. Transparent reviews help the decision journey

Usually when you launch a new product you have no ratings or reviews. This creates a challenging situation when a large number of customers methodically research new products before purchasing. Using Smartson’s recommendation model and working in partnership with price agents and e-tailers you can generate genuine customer reviews at launch or even before. The participants that tried i7+ gave it a rating and a review at selected retailers. All participants were informed to write in their review that they had participated in a test via Smartson.

Values

✓ Early ratings and reviews are critically important even before the launch of a product to influence the purchase decision

5. Customer awards - the recommendation from the crowd

Finally we collect the personal recommendations and the recommendations from the crowds. Everything is presented on the Smartson platform, open for all to read and comment. The Smartson crowdsore is a recognised and trusted symbol that represents how many consumers would recommend the product to a friend. The symbol is used by global brands on pack, in social media, print, digital, press, PR - you name it!

Values

✓ Some negative comments will strengthen the positive ones, transparency is key

✓ Ratings and reviews together with the Smartson crowdscore is a strong combination to drive the decision in the purchase journey

✓ The crowdscore guides you among tested products and services on 7 markets - Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Spain, UK and Netherlands

“Besides great content, the whole experience with Smartson has been completed by a dedicated and professional team, so you gain the most out of your campaign and feel comfortable in the process.”

About iRobots distributor Witt A/S

Witt A/S was founded in Denmark,1993, when the ’man behind’ decided to use his last name as the new company’s name and to use a spare room in his home as a sales office. Imports of white goods started the whole thing, and sales and distribution took place through white goods- and kitchen shops.

Since this humble start, Witt A/S has grown through various agencies from all over the world, and in the past nearly 15 years the company has expanded vigorously. Today Witt A/S sell products coming from 11 different countries. The products are still being sold to the largest white goods- and kitchen shops not only in Denmark but all over Scandinavia.

Contact Smartson

Ready to talk about growth through User Generated Content? Drop us a line: hello@smartson.se.