Considering these 5 factors in the design, manufacturing, and marketing of your product are guaranteed to increase its demand:
Products with Aesthetics that Speak for the Athlete
An athlete’s appearance has an effect on their psyche and can impact their performance. Many athletes subscribe to the belief that “if you look good, you play good”. Highly-visible athletes understand that with stardom also comes an opportunity for scrutiny. Therefore, the products they are associated with must be fashionable, and they must be consistent with their representation of themselves and their brand. And ultimately, they must provide them with the athletic confidence that validates their platform.
Products Manufactured with Flexibility that Don’t Restrict Movement Because they are too Rigid or Overly Cumbersome
All equipment, apparel, and protective gear must provide the proper support and protection without inhibiting an athlete’s ability to move with freedom and ease on the court or field of play. From an athlete’s perspective, a product that is designed to support and protect is only as valuable as its capability to provide that support and protection without decreasing their range of motion, reaction time, and the rate at which they accelerate and decelerate. The ideal product becomes one with the athlete’s body. Therefore, instead of restricting certain movements, it is designed to promote functionality.
Products that are Resistant to External Factors that Decrease their Effectiveness
A product’s ability to maintain its integrity is not only defined by its durability over the long term, but it’s also determined by its capacity to withstand the stress it is put under during competition, and whether those factors cause its effectiveness to be compromised over that short period. The best products consistently perform well regardless of external factors ranging from weather conditions, physical torque and brunt force, or changes in the temperature and moisture of the athlete’s body surface.
Products that are Exclusive to a Select Group for a Period of Time
Professional and Division I athletes take pride in endorsing products that are strictly for their use that have yet to be made widely available to athletes at all levels. Because they equate the quality of certain products with their exclusivity. Making a product exclusive to a select group can be rewarding to both the athlete and the supplier. For the athlete, it provides the psychological benefit of importance and a sense of belonging to an elite group. And once it becomes accessible to athletes of all levels, it can increase the demand for the product based on the principles of identity branding, where consumers develop a level of trust, loyalty, and awareness of a product based on that product’s association. If youth and high school athletes associate a company’s product with their favorite college or professional athlete (who was granted an exclusive right of use), then one can logically conclude that the company can potentially expand their market of consumers exponentially once it is available to the masses.
Products that are Customized to Meet an Athlete’s Specific Needs
Products that are marketed to a wide range of athletes increase their demand when they provide each athlete with a means to tailor it to their specific needs. Even though most athletes compete in team sports and are well-versed on its principle of uniformity in regard to team-related attire and equipment, products that create a space for athletes to establish and express their own identity by fulfilling the basic human desire for individuality can distinguish it from its competitors.