How leading manufacturers are unlocking new market growth without going overseas

When business leaders discuss market expansion, geography is often one of the first variables considered. Which country should we enter next? Which region offers the greatest growth potential? Where should we establish a new distribution network?

These are valid questions, but they can also obscure opportunities that are much closer to home. A new market is not simply a new place. It can also be a new group of customers, a new use case, a new purchasing context or a new route to market.

In many cases, a product that is already successful with consumers can be repositioned for wholesale, trade, institutional or professional buyers. The core product may remain substantially the same, while the format, packaging, distribution model and value proposition change around it.

What constitutes a market?

In his 1957 article, Strategies for Diversification, Igor Ansoff described growth in terms of products and markets, rather than geography alone. His framework distinguished between existing and new products, and existing and new markets. Importantly, a new market could mean a new customer segment or application for an existing product, not necessarily entry into another country. 

Theodore Levitt made a related argument in Marketing Myopia. He warned companies often define their businesses too narrowly around the products they make, rather than the customer needs they serve. This product-centred view can prevent businesses from recognising adjacent opportunities and emerging forms of demand. 

A manufacturer may believe it is in the business of selling household cleaning products, for example. A more useful definition might be that it helps people and organisations maintain clean, safe and presentable environments.

A known product can become a new offer

Moving an established consumer product into a professional or wholesale environment is not simply a matter of increasing the pack size. The buyer has changed, and therefore the offer must change.

A commercial buyer may instead consider:

• Cost per wash
• Product concentration
• Storage efficiency
• Availability and continuity of supply
• Staff usability
• Procurement requirements
• Health and safety considerations
• Environmental impact
• The experience delivered to customers or guests

A practical process for developing the opportunity

1. Research the market

The first step is research. The purpose of this stage is to determine whether the proposed market represents a genuine commercial opportunity and whether the business has the capabilities required to serve it.

Research should examine three areas.

The customer

Who will use the product, and who will make or influence the purchasing decision?

In a business environment, the user and the buyer are often different people. A product might be used by operational staff, selected by a general manager, assessed by a sustainability team and negotiated by procurement.

Each stakeholder may be interested in a different aspect of the offer.

The competition

Competitor analysis should extend beyond brands selling an equivalent product.

Customers may be using substitute products, internal processes, bulk suppliers or long-standing contractual relationships. Doing nothing or remaining with an existing supplier is often the strongest competitor.

The purpose of competitor research is to understand where the proposed offer could be meaningfully different, not simply where it could claim to be better.

The business

A market may appear attractive but remain unsuitable for the organisation.

The business must assess whether it can support:

• Different product volumes
• Revised packaging
• Wholesale pricing
• Trade distribution
• Longer sales cycles
• Technical documentation
• Account management
• Customer service expectations
• Reliable supply at commercial scale

Market attractiveness must be considered alongside organisational capability.

2. Prototype the offer

Once an opportunity has been identified, the next step is to develop a prototype offer.

The traditional marketing mix provides a useful structure. E. Jerome McCarthy’s four Ps, product, price, place and promotion, remain a practical way of examining whether an offer has been designed coherently for a particular market.

Product

Does the product require a new size, concentration, formulation, dispenser or packaging format? 

The product should fit the operating environment of the new buyer, rather than simply replicating the consumer version at a larger scale.

Price

How do you set a price that represents value and also enables necessary margins?

Pricing for a new customer segment should reflect the commercial value created, not simply replicate the consumer price at a larger volume. Professional buyers may assess cost per use, labour efficiency, supply reliability, compliance, waste reduction and the effect on their own customer experience. 

While volume discounts can be appropriate where higher orders produce genuine operational efficiencies, discounting in response to negotiating pressure can weaken the offer from the outset. Each concession establishes a new reference price and can train the market to treat the published price as negotiable rather than structural. The objective is therefore not to be the cheapest alternative, but to make the basis of comparison broader than unit cost by demonstrating the economic and operational value of the complete offer.

Place

Where does the customer expect to find and purchase the product? 

A consumer brand may traditionally be sold in supermarkets, while a professional version may be more appropriately distributed through trade retailers, specialist suppliers, direct sales or procurement platforms.

Promotion

What does the buyer need to understand before they will consider the product?

Consumer messaging is rarely sufficient for professional audiences. Business buyers may require evidence, cost comparisons, demonstrations, case studies or technical information. The recognised brand can provide initial familiarity, but familiarity alone does not establish commercial relevance.

3. Test the prototype with customers

The proposed offer should then be tested with representatives of the target market.

This should happen before the business commits substantial resources to production, distribution or a large-scale campaign. The purpose is to understand not only whether the customer likes the idea, but whether they would realistically consider buying it.

4. Build awareness before launch

A common mistake is to treat awareness as something that begins after the product becomes available. In a new market, awareness should begin earlier.

The target customer may recognise the consumer brand while having no understanding of its professional application. Marketing must therefore build a bridge between existing brand knowledge and the new commercial proposition.

An always-on awareness programme can establish:

• Who the offer is designed for
• What business problem it solves
• How it fits into the customer’s operations
• Why the brand is credible in this context
• How the offer differs from established alternatives

This is especially important where the purchase involves multiple decision-makers or a perceived risk in changing suppliers.

The purpose of early awareness is not necessarily to generate an immediate sale. It is to make the proposition familiar, understandable and credible before the buyer enters an active purchasing process.

5. Launch and sell

Once the offer has been tested and refined, it should be taken to market.

A launch should connect product availability, marketing activity, distribution and sales capability.

The sales team needs more than a product sheet. It needs a clear business case. The aim is not simply to announce that the product exists. It is to help the customer understand why the offer is relevant to their organisation.

6. Support consideration and conversion

Awareness creates recognition, but recognition does not automatically result in purchase.

Professional buyers often move through a more complex consideration process than individual consumers. They may need to consult colleagues, compare suppliers, evaluate costs, review documentation or test the product before making a decision.

Marketing should support this process across relevant channels.

This may involve:

• Search marketing
• Social advertising
• Trade media
• Retargeting
• Email nurturing
• Case studies
• Webinars
• Product demonstrations
• Distributor activity
• Sales outreach
• In-store or point-of-sale communication

The appropriate mix will depend on where the audience researches, purchases and seeks reassurance.

7. Measure, learn and repeat

Market development should be treated as an iterative process rather than a single launch event. Once the offer is in the market, the business will gain access to better information.

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Case Studies

Dove: A consumer brand entering hospitality

Dove was already a highly recognised consumer personal-care brand in the United States.

Through Unilever Professional, the brand had an opportunity to enter the hospitality sector with a refillable product proposition.

The geography remained the same, and the Dove brand was already familiar. What changed was the buyer and the context in which the product would be evaluated.

Hotel procurement teams, operational leaders and general managers were not simply purchasing shampoo or body wash. They were making decisions involving cost, sustainability, operational practicality, brand standards and the guest experience.

Human Digital developed a three-month, full-funnel LinkedIn Lead Gen campaign targeting hotel decision-makers in New York and California.

The campaign recognised that sustainability meant different things to different stakeholders. Procurement audiences required a commercial and cost-based case. General managers were more likely to consider the effect on guest experience and the hotel brand. Messaging was therefore adapted according to both role and stage in the decision process. 

A sustainability eBook served as the central campaign asset. Its function was not simply to promote Dove products. It positioned Dove as a knowledgeable partner capable of helping hospitality organisations evaluate the transition from single-use plastics to refillable alternatives.

The campaign generated more than 70,000 impressions among named decision-makers, alongside strong engagement, qualified content downloads and contact with executives actively considering a change.

The important strategic point is that Dove was not presented as a familiar consumer product placed into a hotel. It was repositioned as a commercial solution to a specific hospitality challenge.

Surf: A supermarket brand entering the trade market

Surf provides a second example of the same underlying strategy. Surf was already a recognised mass-market laundry brand in Australia and New Zealand. Through Unilever Professional, the product was reformatted into larger professional buckets and distributed through Bunnings.

Again, this was not primarily geographic expansion. It was an existing brand entering a new purchasing environment and addressing a new customer group.

The professional audience included small business owners, tradespeople and operators who were unlikely to respond to conventional grocery marketing. These buyers were time-poor, commercially minded and more likely to value practical performance, convenience and availability.

Human Digital partnered with Unilever and Spotify to develop a full-funnel, audio-first campaign tailored to this audience.

The campaign included platform-specific audio scripts, voiceover, canvas video and display advertising. The creative used a cheeky, recognisably Australian tone while remaining focused on the practical realities of business operators. Spotify targeting was used to reach listeners according to behaviour, context and geography. 

The campaign outperformed its key performance indicators and was associated with measurable sales growth for the professional product line.

The humans you need to bring it together

Developing a new market for an existing product usually requires more than one discipline. You may need researchers to understand the new customer, the competitive environment and the buying process. Strategists can help define the opportunity and determine where the business has a credible right to compete.

Product and packaging designers may be required to adapt the offer to a professional, wholesale or trade environment. Pricing specialists can help create a commercial model that reflects value without weakening the brand through unnecessary discounting.

Brand strategists and copywriters are needed to translate the product into a proposition that matters to the new buyer. Digital designers, developers and content producers can then create the websites, campaign assets, sales materials and customer experiences required to support the launch.

Media specialists and performance marketers help build awareness and reach the right decision-makers across relevant channels. Sales teams also need the right evidence, tools and messages to turn that interest into commercial conversations.

The challenge is not simply finding each of these people. It is ensuring they are working from the same understanding of the customer, the opportunity and the commercial objective.

A specialist agency like Human Digital can act as the strategic partner and extension of your team that brings these disciplines together.

They can help move the opportunity from research and proposition development through to design, testing, launch, demand generation and ongoing optimisation. Rather than managing a collection of disconnected suppliers, you have one team responsible for connecting the customer insight, commercial strategy, creative work, technology, media and sales enablement.

This article was originally published on Ben on Brand by Ben van Rooy

References

Ansoff, H. I. (1957). “Strategies for Diversification.” Harvard Business Review, 35(5), 113–124.

Day, G. S. (1994). “The Capabilities of Market-Driven Organizations.” Journal of Marketing, 58(4), 37–52.

Levitt, T. (1960). “Marketing Myopia.” Harvard Business Review, 38(4), 45–56.

McCarthy, E. J. (1960). Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach. Richard D. Irwin.

Human Digital. “Care, not plastic: How Human Digital positioned Dove as the premium eco partner in hospitality.”

Human Digital. “How Unilever Professional, Bunnings, Spotify and Human Digital reached a new professional audience.”

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