Archive for June, 2011
Where does your time go?
Posted by: | Comments
Source: http://www.fastcompany.com/1762946/24-hours-where-does-the-time-go-infographic
Persona marketing ebook available
Posted by: | CommentsPersona marketing clarifies buyers’ real concerns with actionable insights other marketing strategies cannot match. But skillful execution is crucial.
link: Buyer Persona Blog | Buyer Persona Institute
If you’re trying to communicate to people you don’t know, then you’re not communicating. Are you too technical or not technical enough? Are you addressing their issues or your own? Step 1 in product marketing is to define who you’re marketing to and what their issues are.
Nowadays, savvy marketers use Buyer Personas to be sure of communicating clearly, focusing on customer problems. Adele Revella shared her experiences with Buyer Personas in her new ebook, The Buyer Persona Manifesto. For more on personas, see also my article on Buyer and User Personas.
Positioning beyond the product: Think relationship — On Product Management
Posted by: | CommentsWhen your buyers are looking at products, they think very little about product features. They think mostly about their goals and problems, and how you can help them. They think about the risk of failure and the probability of success. When they check your references, they are not just asking about whether your product works as advertised. They want to talk with people who have been in their shoes and been successful because of a relationship with your company.
via Positioning beyond the product: Think relationship — On Product Management.
How often do you hear “the reason we won is because of the sales relationship”? The real reason: the vendor relationship.
Another fine piece by Alan on buyers and their behavior.
How LoJacks Latest Product Helped Rescue Faye Jones | Fast Company
Posted by: | CommentsNeil Baron of Baron Strategic Partners shared this story, published in Fast Company:
On March 23, 2011, Faye Jones, a 71-year-old Philadelphia resident who suffers from Alzheimers wandered away from home and did not return. Detectives located the woman, who was sitting inside of an unlocked vehicle, approximately eight blocks away. The woman was later returned unharmed, despite the cold temperatures and the fact that she was only wearing nightwear.
Fortunately, her husband Elijiah had purchased a bracelet which enabled the Philadelphia police to locate her within an hour. The bracelet contains a transmitter that the police locate using special tracking equipment.
The bracelet and the special police tracking equipment are provided by the SafetyNet division of LoJack. A company known for stolen vehicle recovery is now in the business of saving lives.
via How LoJacks Latest Product Helped Rescue Faye Jones | Fast Company.
Fascinating story about how LoJack–the car-finder product–has been adapted to help find Alzheimers patients. The key, of course, is that they didn’t just guess what people wanted; they interviewed primary caregivers. And finding a lost parent is different than finding a lost car. Different emotions. Different value proposition. Read the full article!
My daughter has started a company called NoAgenda Homeschool and since January, she has interviewed over 100 parents about their challenges in homeschooling.
How many interviews have you conducted lately?
When you’re considering a new market, what is your first step? Start by interviewing some potential buyers and users.
Save Time and Money with the ALL Approach to Customer Research | Fast Company
Posted by: | CommentsQuantitative research has its place. It can help to segment a market, understand market preference for a product feature or measure customer satisfaction. But it can’t substitute for high-touch, one on one conversations with customers.
via Save Time and Money with the ALL Approach to Customer Research | Fast Company.
Lots of folks have lots of ideas about market research. As with any function, everyone thinks they can do it without an expert. Neil Baron wrote a good article on the value of one-to-one interviews before you do a quantitative survey.
