6 InvaluableLessons

for the

Innovator and the

Start-up Muder Chiba

ProvenanceQuotes with no attribution are directly from the book.My interpretations and take-outs are both implicit and explicit , though. Italics are mine in most cases.

Six Timeless Marketing Blunders is a fine book limited by its title and design. Too little sizzle , perhaps ?!

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Muder Chiba

An Ode to Entrepreneurship

“This book is dedicated to the individual and corporate entrepreneurs who , at great personal risk and sacrifice , make life better for all of us.To these usually obscure and frequently unlikely engines of progress who dare to fail-and more often than not do-we owe the economic vigour, jobs, and standard of living flowing from new businesses ,technologies , products , and services”

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History Repeats Itself

“It was déjà vu all over again”

- Yogi Berra

“If people learn from their mistakes ,many are getting a

fantastic education”Overarching Lesson :

Improve the odds in your favour by learning from others’ blunders and taking steps to minimise risk

The Entrepreneurial ProcessRole of serendipity and personality

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As Luck would have it?

“I have concluded that serendipity does usually come into play but it takes an innovative and gutsy person to exploit the opportunity. Legendary oil wildcatter H.L.Hunt would not have struck it rich drilling for oil if he had not been drilling”

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The Entrepreneur’s Manifesto “Intense desire. You have to want

with all your heart. And then , secondly love people and be good to them. And thirdly , you’ve got to think and work , and work and think. And finally ,leave the world a better place than you found it”

- John W.Galbreath ,Real estate developer , sportsman and philanthropistPassion , People First , Agile Management and CSR !

Articulated at a time when the jargon did not exist.

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Blunder No. 1Building Better Mousetraps

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The Fallacy

“ The pertinent issue in evaluating commercial opportunity is ,Who says the product or service is better-the seller or the potential buyers?”

Is it Really a better mousetrap?

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The Fallacy 2

“ People do not purchase products ,services ,or technologies per se. Rather they seek solutions to their needs and wants. What they are willing to pay for these solutions must be commensurate with the magnitude of their needs and wants. Buying a $2500 security system for a valuable stallion’s paddock is one thing ;buying it to catch mice in another”

Does the mousetrap have a market at the price?

Basically-Listen to the Consumer !

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The Fallacy 3

“ However listening to customers closely does not mean listening to them exclusively. Market development requires that firms seek out non-customers as well, to see what might be done about turning them into customers. And innovation demands that companies seek advice and ideas on meeting customer needs from a variety of sources…”

Eschew taking customer feedback literally. Multi-source ideas. Research across spectrum.

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Blunder No. 2Selling Too Much Sizzle , Not enough Steak

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Focus on the Sizzle

“It is a lot easier to differentiate your product through the quality of the marketing than through the quality of the product…it is easier to change your advertising campaign than it is to build a better car”

-James Koch , CEO of Boston Beer Company

Marketing as replacement for product quality = Failure

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The Core Issue

“ ..as competition intensified and consumers became more selective companies began to differentiate their offerings by catering to unmet psychological needs. In many companies ,the thinking eventually took hold that products and services are basically commodities . Therefore what sold was not so much the quality of the commodity as the quality of the marketing”“When companies begin to lose sight of the bundle of

physical ,intangible and psychological attributes they are offering to potential customers , they are on the road to failure”

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End-Point

“Strong psychological appeals to people’s needs and wants accompanied by intrinsic product

quality , are a blueprint for effective marketing.Steak without at least some sizzle will usually

not attract customers ,even in business-to-business marketing.

But sizzle without the steak is a sure recipe for failure.”

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Blunder No. 3Oversubscribing to the Conventional Wisdom

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Overturning Conventional Wisdom

“Progress does not follow a straight line ; the future is not a mere projection of trends in the present. Rather it is revolutionary. It overturns the conventional wisdom of the present , which often conceals or ignores the clues to the future”

Dr. An Wang , Wang Laboratories Be careful of past wisdom

cul-de-sacs !

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You can analyze the past but

you have to design the future.

- Edward De Bono

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Blunder No. 4Too Much Faith in Forecasting

Come on! Jump !! It can‘t go wrong every

time...

Forecasting and modeling are complex tasks...

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Muder Chiba

Famous expert forecasts !“Who the hell wants to hear actors

talk ?” H.M. Warner , Warner

Brothers ,1927

“There is not the slightest indication that (nuclear) energy will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will”

Albert Einstein ,1932

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“Armstrong has proposed the ‘Seer Sucker’ theory : No

matter how strong the evidence that seers do not exist , suckers will pay for

seers.” Referring to J Scott Armstrong , Wharton Business School

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Blunder No. 5Practicing Chinese Marketing

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1.The hype created about the huge market size that the Chinese population represented

2.The belief that this market would lap up all the surplus production and stocks ‘back home’ in the Western markets

‘Chinese Marketing’ refers to

Is South Asia ‘Chinese Marketing’ Hype?

Much has been written about the ‘population dividend’ that South

Asia represents for businesses ,particularly

the larger markets of India , Pakistan and Bangladesh.To take advantage :The markets are dissimilar in many

ways 1.The middle class is not growing at the same pace across2. The age and sex spreads are not

homogenous3.Market Evolution* is at different

stages4.Within-India too , distinct markets

exist; Differing tastes and sensorial profiles , different expectations and varying business models!

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* http://www.slideshare.net/MuderChiba/6th-stage-marketing-in-the-hyper-connected-world

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Blunder No. 6Confusing Financial/Marketing Cause and Effect

Truly understand own Business Model

Muder ChibaMuder Chiba

Truly understand own

Business Model

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“Chance Favours the

Prepared Mind” Louis Pasteur

muder.chiba@gmail.com