It’s not easy to go head-to-head with industry heavyweights that command a particular market segment. That’s especially true in the household cleaning industry, where major brands truly outshine and out-sparkle the competition.
But that didn’t stop one of our clients from trying to compete with the Swiffer family of products. A leading cleaning products manufacturer in the US, our client was known for its wide variety of household products, but the folks behind Swiffer had beaten them to the punch with their lineup of innovative cleaning solutions.
With a huge desire to mop the floor with the competition, our client wanted to launch a product that competed directly with Swiffer. But simply launching a competing product with the same offering wouldn’t be enough – especially given Swiffer’s market share and strong brand recognition.
So the manufacturer came to MaCorr and asked us to employ our Gap Finder and Concept Testing market research techniques.
Through our Gap Finder process, we pinpointed the gap that exists between what would-be Swiffer users deem most important about a product and the reality of what Swiffer actually delivers.
After narrowing down the gap, we took the rough, sketched out idea, and then tested and analyzed its potential. Our testing process included features expectations analysis, packaging and logo testing, name and USP assessment, and even at-home testing.
The result? Our client has successfully launched their product, which you can find in major retail chains – not to mention in clean homes all over North America.