Garner Consulting, LLC

Jump Start Your Marketing Brain - 3, pp. 42-43

(See Jump Start Your Marketing Brain - 1 Intro)

The research cited in this section revealed that innovation efforts focused on and anticipating future needs of customers was 10 times more likely to result in successful innovation versus competitors. Being overly concerned with customer satisfaction (looking backward) hampers development.

In many ways this reveals the essence of an entrepreneurial company. Dare to consider a product innovation as the only, best idea you have in order to "make it." Try to create the mindset that there is no back-up plan, you have no existing customer base, and you need a killer product to keep the company going (of course, that might already be true). Take the knowledge you have of the market and "think forward," trying to anticipate what your customers are going to need next.

Serve them, don't "milk them" for all they are worth.

--

Buy Doug's book. 

Jump Start Your Marketing Brain - 2, pp. 40-41

(See Jump Start Your Marketing Brain - 1 Intro)

Essentially, a study found that innovations that created new markets generated "9.6 times more profit" than what can be considered "safe" offerings: line extensions to existing products, slight modifications to existing brands, tweaking something for a different distribution channel. Of course, there is more to this, but it seems to hold that focusing on bold innovations will yield better overall results.

Another note on the structure of the book, the scientific study results are presented on two facing pages. One is "Scientific Advice" and the other is "Practical Ideas." This format is great for taking bite size chunks of rich information--and actually having a chance at making it actionable rather than merely academic.

Since radical innovation is the driving force for new revenue and profit, our product development efforts should be oriented toward this. However, we must also realize that completely new markets can require the education of new customers. This means a somewhat longer process will be required to reach a critical mass of acceptance.

As for practical ideas, Doug suggests staying away from focus groups--also the danger in focusing too heavily on "Voice of the Customer" efforts. There is a difference between knowing your customers and having them dictate what products you should be producing. You should know them, know their challenges, and know their customers or obligations. By increasing your empathy, you can better apply your company's core capabilities and come up with break-through products and services that your customers would have never thought of.

This is the first of a series of discussions related to Doug Hall's Jump Start Your Marketing Brain book. Of all the books and subsequent marketing implementations I've been involved with, this book could very well be the most valuable.

My intention is to reference specific sections of the book and give a few of my own comments. If you want to truly follow along, pick up a copy of the book here.

 

Meaningful Marketing

I had contemplated working on my own book (and I still have a few ideas rolling around in my brain for a few more) related to what I was calling "value marketing" and other related tags. Doug trumped me with his term "meaningful marketing" vs. "mindless marketing" and had a ton of research to back up his thesis. This is where everything begins.

There is far more value in getting away from "tricking" people into being interested in your product or service. For far too long, the advertising world has been slipping toward "cute and clever" vs. communicating the real message that a company, product, or service actually conveys. A statistic I've seen in several places suggests that Americans, on average, are bombarded with upwards of 3000 advertising messages per day.

This is obscene. And the only way to actually have a chance of getting your message across is to be honest, real, and overt with your message. People are tired of being tricked and over-hyped. They doubt everything. They believe nothing. And their attention spans are shorter than ever.

If you can't arrest their brains in less than 3 seconds, they're gone...and on to the next thing. However, trickery or "punch the monkey's" also make them angry, so you have to give them real, credible value inside of that 3 seconds. This is the marketing challenge of our current market climate. (And, as an aside, I actually worked for a company descended from the original punch-the-monkey / Treeloot infamy for a time.)

Doug's organizing principles revolve around 3 "laws" he outlines on pages 97-101:

1. Overt Benefit - What's in it for me?
2. Real Reason to Believe - Why should I believe you?
3. Dramatic Difference - Why should I care?

These are the most important factors he discovered through the work of his Eureka Ranch. It is the foundation for understanding his M.O. for the rest of the book.