3 tia presentation 'optimizing your venture' 20121103
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Transcript of 3 tia presentation 'optimizing your venture' 20121103
Optimizing Your Venture
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE November 2012
WIRELESS:U/N: tia
P/W: colgate
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
Five Questions• What is your idea?
• Who is it for?(your user, influencer, purchaser)
• What problem (need) are you solving for this target?
• Is it a good idea? How do you KNOW? (OK, prove it!)
• Is your idea as good as it could be? Do you know?
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
1) What Is Your Idea? (In 30
Seconds)• The promised land: clarity, simplicity, jargon-free.
• Write it before you say it; trim all non-essentials. (Imagine each word cost you $10.00)
• The test--does your presentation produce: a)reactions to the idea? Or b)“Hmm—not sure I understand it.”
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
Communication Commandments• 1) Jargon is the refuge of small and insecure
minds, and the enemy of clarity and power.
• 2) Good communication= when your audience spends 100% of their energy responding to your idea and 0% trying to understand it.
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
2) Who’s Your Target?• Demographics (males 18-24; married with kids)
• Attitudes (traditional; safety-conscious)
• Behaviors (diet beverage user; donates to charities)
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
2) Who’s Your Target?• Be able to define your target with absolute clarity!
(Women who use inexpensive hair dryers; Males 18-24 who cook for themselves; Local schools that lack computers)
• Force yourself to refine the target: Macho teen boys/Health-conscious seniors
• Get inside their head—look through their eyes—talk to them. Otherwise, you are assuming…..
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
3)What Problem Are You Solving• State the problem/need with CLARITY
• Make sure you KNOW it’s a problem FOR THEM. (‘Knowledge’ beats ‘Belief’ every time.)
• How big/important is the problem/need? Worth solving? Will a consumer change his/her behavior?
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
4) Is It A Good Idea? • How do you know? (Know vs. believe)
• Can you prove it…to investors, to potential employees/partners, to anyone you need help/support from?
• Because if you can’t, here’s a story about what could happen to you…..
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
“Your Idea Sucks!” (Prove It Doesn’t!)• Who says it’s a good idea? That’s right, the “who”
is key! (You or your mom vs. 100 potential customers.)
• Have you stepped outside your beliefs and assessed the relevance/power of your idea to your target market?
• “Unless you are going to buy one million cases yourself, your point-of-view is nice, but I only care about what our target customer thinks.”
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
“My Idea Doesn’t Suck! It’s Good!”• OK, prove it by knowing the answers to the ‘four
questions’:
• 1)Who is it relevant to? (Understand your target…and their needs/wants)
• 2) Why is it relevant? (What unmet need/problem are you addressing?)
• 3) Does it have a meaningful point-of-difference from competitive offerings? (Competitive ‘reason-for-being’---better/faster/cheaper/etc.)
• 4) Is it compelling enough to motivate action? Change behavior? Open a wallet?
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
Have You Done Your Market Research?• If not, it’s very, very hard to answer the four
questions. (Maybe impossible…)
• If not, you are ‘flying blind.’
• Victory—in war, in the marketplace, or in TIA—goes to those who have better intelligence about the needs/wants/beliefs/perceptions of their target.
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
How Do You Get Insights…• …into your target’s needs, wants, perceptions and
beliefs?
o Ask them….
o There is no substitute for this type of knowledge. Period.
• Again: without it, you are ‘flying blind’…which decreases the odds of getting to your destination…….
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
How Do You Get Started? It’s Easy…• Identify your target(s); and determine how many
interviews do you need to do (set a target);
• Develop an interview guide—this forces you to define what you want to learn;
• Before you begin—practice, practice, practice…to develop your interviewing skills;
• And now, start your research!
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
And Remember…• When you talk with your target:
• take notes: shows respect, loosens:tongues, enhances ‘data recovery’;
• Remember the ‘Divine Ratio’: 2 ears+2 eyes:1 mouth =listen/watch more than
talk—you will learn more/get smarter.
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
5) Is Your Idea As Good As It Can Be?• Has it been optimized? How do you know?
• Answer the next question correctly and you will be on the right path……
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
When Does Intelligence-Gathering
Stop?• Never…unless the world stops changing;
• Never stop talking to your customers! The more you know, the better your chances of success;
• Apply continuous market/consumer intelligence to your product or service, and…..
• You’ll know that your product/service….is as good as it can be……for now.
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
Final Thought: Make A Powerful Brand • Powerful brands have three key features:
relevance, resonance and differentiation
• Relevant: addresses functional needs of the target
• Resonant: addresses emotional needs of the target
• Differentiated: from competitive offerings
• Focus relentlessly on delivering all three: you will increase your odds of winning in the marketplace