Haas 2009 Riemer Weigend

Editor's Notes

1. SKU: Stock-Keeping Unit
2. Target customer: best products have a customer in mind. Facebook vs. most other social networks 2 nd Target customer: Honda CRV (women first, environmentally conscious second) Customer intimacy: companies that “get” their customer win Ask yourself: who is this for? What are my key segments? What is their life like? What are their motivations? How do customers differ by segment? How can you maintain an ear to the ground (constantly)? What research still needs to be done?
3. Good Grips kitchen tools grew out of one man's desire to build a better potato peeler for his arthritic wife.
4. What motivates your key customers? Don’t ask what technology can do… ask what it can do for a user? Have I thought about benefits and end benefits? Am I keeping it simple?
5. OXO began with a few simple questions - Why do ordinary kitchen tools hurt your hands? Why can't there be wonderfully comfortable tools that are easy to use? The man who asked these questions was Sam Farber. Sam, who had recently retired as the founder of a successful housewares company, first questioned the effectiveness of kitchen gadgets in response to his wife Betsey's difficulty in gripping ordinary kitchen tools, due to a slight case of arthritis in her hands. Seeing an opportunity to help not only people with arthritis but also to create more comfortable kitchen tools for everyone to use, Sam came out of retirement and approached the design firm Smart Design with that challenge. As part of the initial research that included talking with consumers, chefs and retailers, Patricia Moore, a noted gerontologist, was brought on board to help understand the needs of the users with special needs.
6. * To help recessionistas cope in this economy, apparel rental services are coming to the rescue. * Dress Vault facilitates the lending, borrowing, buying and selling of frocks. Members put pics of their dresses into their virtual closet and include a rental or purchase price. Borrowers cover shipping costs, but not the cleaning bill. * Over in London, Girl Meets Dress is helping women look their best on a budget by loaning high-end dresses from designers like Diane Von Furstenberg, 3.1 Phillip Lim and Stella McCartney. The shopper designates her loaner length — from two nights to a month —and returns the dress in the package it was delivered in.
7. See what is resonating with your segment. Find an insight that rings true. Find a truth in your product that REALLY addresses the segment. Insure that you can own this competitively.
8. See what is resonating with your segment. Find an insight that rings true. Find a truth in your product that REALLY addresses the segment; Insure that you can own this competitively. Example: Southwest. The happy airline. Herb Kelleher empowered everyone to innovate by saying, “just do what you need to do to make the customers happy.” Airline travel sucks. No one seems to like it (even the crew). Southwest will change that. Staff wears shorts, they smile, they crack jokes. Their planes are sometimes painted like killer whales. The fares are cheap. Planes are on time. Flying is fun again and they make it possible to deliver the ultimate end benefit: Mobility (you’re now free to move about the country). Brand masters: brands that sweat tone, style, language, names, built on a story What are the qualities of the brand/product? What visual language: mnemonics, images, colors represent the brand? Who are the characters in the story and what challenges do they have to overcome (and how does the product make this possible?)
9. What was the “idea” in this case? The product a wheel shaped slide tray. What was the innovation and the imperative that the Agency came up with? Pictures are about nostalgia, a place to go back to. Imperative: use an emotional not a technical sell. What elements comprised the “how”. The name: Carousel. The story: Greek copywriter story, the images of the family, the yearning to go back. The visual: carousel image. Why do we need to inspire innovation ? Why can’t an idea sell itself?
10. Stories protect and transport ideas Characters and “Customer Insights” – it’s hard to have a story without central characters. Pinpoint key customers for the idea and describe the insights must relevant to this problem. Context – what is the environment – global, local, competitive, etc. – that helps us understand the customer issues. Problem – what problem does our customer face that needs to be addressed? S olution (idea as hero) – how does our idea solve the problem that we have defined? Mnemonics/key visuals – how can we make the story more memorable with a key visual(s) or mnemonic device that helps bring more meaning to our story and make it more memorable? Illustration of great storytelling: we’ll illustrate the power of a story with either a children’s story a movie or both (e.g. Cinderella); we’ll then compare that to a business innovation story (e.g. the Blackberry). Main characters in the Blackberry story was the strapped “in-meetings-from-8-to-5” executive. Problem was she was out of the loop during the day and unresponsive to his/her team and the boss as well. A huge sense of powerlessness. Solution was this amazing device with a cool name, a big screen and cool keyboard that was great for reading and sending e-mail. Well, you’re tempted if you are running for president or building a product or selling a service, to tell different stories to different people because if you tell each person the story that they need to hear, you’ll make more sales. The problem is people talk to each other now. The problem now is your speech gets recorded and put on YouTube and everyone gets to see it. The problem is that you can’t say you’re against sweatshops and then have one in India because people will discover it. And so in a world where everyone is talking behind the scenes, you have to live your story. Your story actually has to be true. What we find is that companies that really care about what they do and live their story have no trouble keeping their story straight because they just tell the truth all the time.
11. Insight: Insight – even amateurs see themselves as competitors Story: it came from “the swamp” Gatorade helps maximize “performance” Keeps athletes at the top of their game.
12. Not just the product itself. Whole product – who delivers an experience not just a product Whole product analysis today (what elements beyond obvious) Buying, provisioning Partners
13. The Tao of Timbuk2 Timbuk2 is more than a bag. It’s more than a brand. Timbuk2 is a bond. To its owner, a Timbuk2 bag is a dependable, everyday companion. We see fierce, emotional attachments form between Timbuk2 customers and their bags all the time. A well-worn Timbuk2 bag has a certain patina– the stains and scars of everyday urban adventures. Many Timbuk2 bags are worn daily for a decade, or more, accompanying the owner through all sorts of defining life events. True to our legend of “indestructibility”, it’s not uncommon for a Timbuk2 bag to outlive jobs, personal relationships, even pets. This is the Tao of Timbuk2. City-Born and Street-Tough Timbuk2 has been a San Francisco original since 1989. Stitch-by-stitch, bag-by-bag, we’ve built a solid reputation and a loyal following among real-life, hard-working bicycle messengers and cycling enthusiasts. Over the years, our messenger bag emerged from its working-class roots — adopted by a growing number of urbanites, students, and young professionals as a stylish alternative to the ubiquitous two-strap daypack and the formal black briefcase. Products To Delight Our Customers As we move forward, we remain faithful to our working-class urban roots, while expanding our city-bred sensibilities to a broader range of products and a wider audience. All of our new products share the same sense of style, toughness, attention to detail and dedication to quality that have made our Classic Messenger Bag a true classic.
14. A marketers most powerful weapon Element owners LOVE their cars, because they deliver on the value proposition and every detail is done with it (and them) in mind
15. Competitive separation is huge! To do so in the laptop space, Jobs had to be radical Imagine the conversations Jobs head with his staff: There's only one USB port, no FireWire, no Ethernet port, no microphone in port for audio enthusiasts, no ExpressCard slot for expansion purposes, no SD card slot, and no dedicated docking port on the bottom of the notebook. Integrated battery is a big challenge No ethernet port? No disc drive? No USB ports?
16. Setup daily searches on Twitter and Google to see who is talking about your brand, industry keywords, and competitor keywords. Optional, if you have budget, look at tools from Techrigy, Scoutlabs, Radian6, or Visible Technologies. Setup a process internally with your customer support, marketing, product management, and pr before you start communicating Since you are starting social media within your company, you need to start educating those around you. Setup brown-bags teaching them on the tools you use and the data you see. Teach them a whole new way of communicating in a honest, truthful, & personable way.
17. A marketers most powerful weapon Element owners LOVE their cars, because they deliver on the value proposition and every detail is done with it (and them) in mind
18. Funnel businesses: understanding the acquisition model Review and assess funnel Discuss KBIs (Key Business Indicators) Channel discussion: Current customers Direct sales Resellers SEM/SEO/affiliate Other: Events, viral (customers of customers), advertising, unattributed site traffic Prioritize channels Assess key points of leverage Identify testing/optimization platform
19. Sites that say what they mean: Reference UI review Key audiences (prospects, customers, partners, press, investors) Desired actions for key audiences Answer the question “what do we want you to do on this page?” Messaging prioritization Overall By audience Navigation discussion Role of phone number vs. other calls-to-action Wireframe brainstorm for key audiences
20. Sites that say what they mean: Reference UI review Key audiences (prospects, customers, partners, press, investors) Desired actions for key audiences Answer the question “what do we want you to do on this page?” Messaging prioritization Overall By audience Navigation discussion Role of phone number vs. other calls-to-action Wireframe brainstorm for key audiences
21. Make sure you break your habits to change the way you see and do things: different room, setting, IE 6, 800x600, time of day, PC, etc. there might be a few ways to perform an action and WE usually know the easiest and fastest… Getting started is different from getting engaged = e.g. starting with Mail is getting a Y!ID. Getting engaged is adding contacts and sharing you new email address.
22. Settle in. Use the Product for a t least 2 weeks. Point there is not to focus on all features and aspects, the Mkg Manager should know them, instead try and focus on peaks and valleys. Hesitation point example: where is the Gmail ‘reply’ button? Your hand gets stuck on your mouse not knowing where to go for more than 5 secs? Report it!
23. 1. Reverse engineer the Marketing: based on what you see, reconstruct the foundation of their product marketing (target segment and positioning). 2. Also: Does marketing reinforce the product? Is it in line with the positioning and style of the product? e.g. Disconnect of Y! Msgr today: sign-up for a new one and you will feel that it’s a Voice product (Voice is only one of many features now, the product is about letting you instantly connect with friends)