Creating consumer demand using tipping point principles from Gladwell

¶ … invent a consumer good and 2 make the demand for that good tip. Referring to Gladwell's book "The Tipping Point"

The Revolutionary Multifunctional Flower Pot

The beneficial role of plants outside the home as well as inside the home is undoubted. Plants in all their forms absorb the carbon dioxide and release the vital oxygen. The need for more plants is becoming more and more obvious in the world today, moreover when deforestations are destroying the natural balance. However a solution to protect the entire environment is pretty difficult to find, we should approach the issue from a limited stand point and then expand. For instance, we should increase the number of plants we have at home, within the house and in our gardens. But the busy world we live in might prevent us from properly taking care of the plants, which in the end die. A revolutionary product to solve this problem is the Multifunctional Flower Pot.

The Product

The invented product will be called the Multifunctional Flower Pot and it will be designed for nature lovers, environmentalists and simple people who desire to have flowers in their apartments but find it difficult to care for them. The new product is characterized by numerous features, such as functionality, colour, size, costs, packaging, warranty and additional services.

Functionality of the product

As the name implies, the Multifunctional Flower Pot is meant to do more than host plants. The new pot will be designed with two additional features. First, there is the water container at the basis of the pot. The water container will be designed in a pleasant manner that will successfully integrate in the pot's overall image. The dimensions of the container will be established proportionally to the dimensions of the pot and will occupy about 20% of the entire flower pot.

The objective of the built-in water container is to have the plants in the pot watered. The owner will establish the watering times depending on the plant, such as every other day for roses or every other week for cacti. The container is designed with a built-in pump that will release water into the soil above at the times established by the owner. Some might object to the basis placement of the container, arguing that the pump will be unable to uniformly spread the water across the entire soil. However, this is not the case, as the built in pomp has a great strength and will uniformly water the soil at the basis as well as at the top of the flower pot. The water container will be designed with a miniature clock that can be used by the owner to set the watering times.

Also, aside from the container clock, the owner could also use the built-in micro-computer, the second integrated component of the Multifunctional Flower Pot. This micro-computer will have a small screen placed on the front side of the pot and will indicate the level of light, the space around the plant and the nutrients in the soil. The mini-computer will indicate two measurements for each feature: the necessary level of light and the actual lightning of the plant; the required space the plant in the pot needs and the actual space the plant has, and last, the required level of nutrients and the existent level of nutrients in the plant's soil. With these measurements, the owner will at all times know the health of his or her plant and will be able to make the necessary arrangements, such as put the plant in more light or increase the level of nutrients in the soil.

Size and Colour of the Multifunctional Flower Pot

The revolutionary pot comes in several sizes, adaptable to almost all home and garden plants. It comes in small sized to suit plants such as miniature rose bushes, bonsai trees, or in medium and large sizes to host lemon trees. The Multifunctional Flower Pot is available in several colours, from black, white, yellow or beige up to red, pink or violet. The wide array of colours makes it easy for the owner to purchase those pots that best integrate with his indoor and outdoor design.

The pots will be packed in resistant cartoon boxes that will have printed the name and contact data of the producer and sellers. For purchases over 20 flower pots, the delivery to the customers' house will be free of charge. The Multifunctional Flower Pot will have ranging prices, starting from $50 a piece and reaching $2,200. The products have a 24 months warranty, after which the producer encourages buyer to address their problems to the repairs and support department.

2. The Tipping Point

The "Tipping Point is a sociological term that refers to the moment when something unusual becomes common." For starters, the Multifunctional Flower Pot might not seem as a necessity nor a much desired product, as such an unusual product. But along the marketing process, the product could reach the tipping point and become a common product.

Law of the Few

The Few are represented by individuals or social groups that have a different degree of knowledge and interest in the product and who possess various capabilities of making the product known to the world. There are three types of Few: connectors, mavens and salesmen.

In the case of the Multifunctional Flower Pot, the connectors would be the intermediaries that come between the manufacturer of the pots and the final customers. As such, the connectors would be the wholesale stores that purchase the new pots from the manufacturer and then place them onto the market. These wholesale stores present the benefit of numerous acquaintances and connection on the target market. They can easily identify the target market and sell them the new product.

The second category of the Few would be formed from the management of the small retail stores that purchase the Multifunctional Flower Pot from the wholesale stores. These people are well aware of the demand and offer of pots and can easily identify a viable product and its characteristics. The management at the retail stores will be able to state an informed opinion in regard to the product's features and pricing. Considering that the management of the retail store has agreed to purchase the new pots, the third category of the Few is revealed.

The salesmen are the employees at the retail store that will present the customers with the new product. They will emphasize on the benefits of the Multifunctional Flower Pot and will persuade the audience to purchase the revolutionary pot.