The history of one name, or product positioning on a new platform

    MaCleaner - a utility for cleaning Mac computers, created by our colleagues from Everyday Tools, is already familiar to our readers. The promotion of this product on the Mac market for cleaners was fraught with many difficulties - from the very beginning the guys knew that they were not pioneers in the industry, that they would have to bypass strong competitors. However, the experience gained during the resolution of this case encouraged them to take strategic planning more seriously, to really assess obstacles and risks.



    So, work on market analysis yielded the result: the 3rd and 4th versions of MaCleaner attracted many times more user interest than the early iterations. But profit exists in order to maximize it, and, inspired by the success of recent months, they decided that it was time to take the next step. With Mac users now embraced as much as possible, it’s time to enter new markets. Which ones? First of all, Windows comes to mind, of course. Despite the fact that Mac devices have been gaining popularity in recent years, Windows still holds a leading position among operating systems by a wide margin.



    The diagram speaks for itself: to such a wide audience it’s a sin not to even try to break through.

    To succeed in the market of Mac cleaners, colleagues used one of the most popular strategies - the product differentiation strategy, which is actually to identify and meet the expectations of dissatisfied customers with existing goods and services through an external competitive advantage based on the company's marketing know-how. How this happened in stages was discussed in the previous article about the product, in particular, and the fact that insufficiently careful study of the analytical component somewhat spoiled our debut. Therefore, before choosing one or another promotion strategy, they came to grips with the study of a new niche.

    Market situation


    First, a little about market conditions. What about Windows software in general and cliners in particular? Judging by our analysis, it is very disappointing for new players.

    To begin with, the market for cleaners for this OS is currently oversaturated. A detailed examination of the functionality of the leading products on the market showed that adhering to the differentiation strategy is more difficult here: everything that lies on the surface has already been implemented in most successful products. The specifics of the platform itself aggravates the situation - in Windows, clients have to circumvent more restrictions than on devices from Apple, which forces the developer to narrow and adjust the functionality.

    Nevertheless, there are several ideas that should significantly strengthen such a project in the future and bring it to the same level as the Mac counterpart. In particular:

    • cleaning cache and logs;
    • delete browser history;
    • disposal of system trash;
    • cleaning the Downloads folder;
    • filtering large files;
    • search for installation files;
    • uninstall extensions;
    • cleaning mail clients;
    • removal of private data;
    • duplicate search;
    • monitoring system status.

    And finally, the most ambitious of ideas - a cross-platform web version that automatically detects the platform and performs cleaning with minimal user involvement and without the need to install software. But all this is in the long-term plans. And at the moment the guys are at the first stages of introducing their concept, are adapting to the new platform and in the first version they can offer the audience only a fairly standard set of functions.

    Thus, between the functional that they plan to implement in the near future, and what they have now, there is a clear gap. The question arises: how to bring these two products, ready and hypothetical, together, thinking over the positioning of the product?

    Pricing and Positioning


    If you answer this question briefly: in the short term - no way. We turn to the theory. In a situation of an oversaturated market, one can differentiate by price in two mutually exclusive ways:

    a) dumping;
    b) raise the price, based on the premium and quality of the product.

    Given that the average Windows user spends less on software than the average Mac user, the first option, of course, looks somewhat seductive. Positioning your product as a budget solution with a compact set of essentials, you could have avoided the risks and earn something, and later, as the functionality is enriched, prepare the way for radical rebranding.

    At the same time, it would be unprofitable and offensive to choose such a strategy: the labor costs for this project today are such that the application simply would not pay for itself if it were given at a price lower than the market. Having thoroughly considered everything, our colleagues decided, in the end, to choose the opposite pricing policy and thereby rank the project as premium products.

    Of course, this also implied appropriate positioning - a position indistinct from the point of view of the consumer could ruin the chosen marketing strategy. But it turned out a little awkward: after all, most of the unique features that would give the product a touch of premium, to date, developers could only promise users upfront. Of course, they intend to bring the product to the level they set as quickly as possible, but how not to push users off with a mismatch from the very beginning? Fortunately, the solution was obvious - his predecessor with the Mac came to the rescue of the Windows cleaner.

    Branding and title


    For an audience to believe promises, they must come from someone who has already established himself as a successful player. In other words, it was necessary to make maximum use of the brand’s accumulated reputation. So, the product on Windows should cause direct associations with its counterpart on the Mac - especially since the functionality in theory will be almost the same. Well, the simplest and most straightforward way to establish a connection between two projects is, of course, matching names.

    When releasing the product on the MacStore, the name MaCleaner was used as a shorthand for the heavier Machine Advanced Cleaner. For this market, such a reference to the device was as appropriate as possible, although it was necessary to discuss with the moderators a bit, proving that it does not violate the rules.

    For the Windows version, of course, you could return to the original Machine Advanced Cleaner - this would eliminate confusion with the platform, but at the same time significantly reduce brand awareness. Ultimately, after weighing all the pros and cons, it was decided to keep the name unchanged. The need for credit for user trust initially brings positive associations to the fore, leaving the other criteria for effective name selection far behind.

    Summing up, we must admit that this case is the first time that our colleagues had to build a brand policy in this way. If we consider the current state of affairs in isolation from prospects, they should be content with a follower strategy (or late arrivals strategy). However, this was so contrary to the planned schedule of updates and growth prospects that they went the other way. Now the product has to urgently grow to the level that it is given its name and price, but this is a good incentive. One can only hope that the chosen strategy will pay off, and MaCleaner for Windows in the coming year will replenish the list of products that provide the company with a good reputation.

    Also popular now: