Posts Tagged: Value Proposition

Business Development — No Comments
24
Nov 09

It’s OK to Dream Big

If you could imagine the best computer, what would it be? Or, what would the best car look like? While we need to strike a balance between what is possible and impossible (at this time), we need to understand that dreaming big gets us further to the “impossible.” Consider this video of the future computer:

The computer looks like an innovation from the Beyond Year 2000 show on the Discover Channel. You might put it up there with the floating car and the augmented reality goggles. However, we need to go to such creative heights if we are ever to get even halfway there. The more we stretch, the further we can go.

Think Star Trek: the first mobile phone, personal computer, memory disc and Blue Tooth headset were once impossible dreams on the sci-fi show. Now they are everyday realities. Instead of thinking what was possible, the creators of Star Trek just imagined — no holds barred.

How would your product or service be different if there were no limits? In other words, what is the most perfect version of your product? Once you have this in mind, start to think about how to make it possible. While you might not reach your vision immediately, set yourself on a path that gets you there.

Leadership — No Comments
19
Nov 09

Know Your Market, Know Your Niche

Coca Cola and Pepsi are the go-to sodas for the majority of people; it’s one or the other. That idea really upsets John Nese, the proprietor of Galcos Soda. He features hundreds of varieties of soda in his store. Everything from Romanian Rose to Q. Cumber soda. Though he might be a little nuts, he typifies an entrepreneur that owns a niche. No where in the country could you find a selection similar to that in Galcos Soda.

Though there is not a mainstream demand for such an array of soda, John has develop a unique product in the market. He illustrates how to own your niche by:

Knowing your market — Who knows the only soda in the dictionary? John does and it’s Moxie.
Offering a unique product — Galcos Soda is the only store to sell Romanian Rose soda.
Staying passionate — John is constantly looking for the next, fantastic “micro-soda.” It is a life-long pursuit.

The Galcos Soda market will not explode into a national chain. There simply is not the demand to support it. However, for those few soda enthusiasts like John, Galcos Soda is an indispensable necessity — a mecca of sorts. How can you create a mecca or an indispensable product?

Branding — No Comments
16
Nov 09

Cut Costs or Customers?

We have seen cost-cutting measures go to the extreme in the past year. Either cut or die, essentially. In fact, 52% of HR departments have conducted layoffs in the past year.

Though Netflix is not suffering as much as other companies, it’s exploring its own ways to cut costs. Lifehacker reported that Netflix is considering delaying its new releases to reduce the purchase costs or they are going continue with their current model — new releases when they come out.

Essentially, Netflix is battling whether or not to maintain the model that has made it successful (featuring great, new releases along with its competitors) or giving customers a reason to go to the Blockbuster down the street. Unless Netflix intends to charge less for its lesser product, it gives customers a reason to change services. Why pay the same amount for a lesser product?

The way Netflix could create a win-win situation is to offer a tiered plan based on movie release dates. Pay X to receive new releases and pay a lesser amount for everything else. This way consumers have the ability to choose a lesser service. Unfortunately, if Netflix decides to make users pay for a lesser product by delaying new releases, it could give consumers a reason to shop down the street.

Leadership — No Comments
15
Nov 09

Le-Tan: Adding Value to Book Publishing

By the end of 2009, book sales are expected to decline around 6.8% for adult hardcovers and 3.0%, according to the PW/IPR Book Sales Index, a new report from Publishers Weekly and the Institute for Publishing Research. With the successful launch of the Kindle and Sony’s e-reader, book publishing could face some tough times ahead. Though many people love curling up to read a paperback (myself included), many of the same people probably said they couldn’t imagine waking up without the morning newspaper. Give it another decade and e-readers will start really encroaching on the book publishing market.

Today I stumbled across a new project from Olympia Le-Tan. She had stitched famous book titles on canvas. Many of the classics are covered… Moby Dick, Catcher in the Rye, Nineteen Eighty Four, For Whom the Bell Tolls. With her book jackets, Olympia illustrates how to add value to a struggling (or soon-to-be) market. Though only a fraction of book readers would even consider the handmade jackets (if they were sold as such), they add a unique element to a library. It 1) appeals to a niche market (particularly underground hipsters) and 2) it’s in limited supply. Le-Tan’s spin on book covers illustrates how a creative touch and niche appeal is a recipe for value.

Branding — No Comments
23
Oct 09

Starbucks and the Importance of Following Through

On my way to Philadelphia, as it was getting late, I stopped at a rest stop to pick up a Starbucks cappuccino. Of the past hundred of cappuccinos I’ve had, I’d say 20 fall in the 8-10 range on the quality scale. Of those 20, I’d say 18  come from Starbucks. The reason? I’ve never had a cappuccino from the café chain that didn’t fall in the 8-10 range. Likewise, I’ve stopped ordering cappuccinos from non-Starbucks cafes. With only two cappuccinos of other cafes able to deliver a premium quality cappuccino, I don’t test my luck anymore.

All numbers aside, brands can learn something from a quality cappuccino. It’s called consistently delivering on your value proposition. At first, the founders of Starbucks failed in their attempt to make a successful café in America. Dominating the landscape was Maxwell House and other coffee suppliers. Having journeyed to European cafes, the Starbucks founders decided to bring quality to the American coffee market. Impressed with the European coffee and espresso machines, the Starbucks founders imported the expensive hardware to the States.

With the brand value proposition that incorporates quality, Starbucks had the vehicle for which to deliver it with their premium café machines. Thus, America was introduced to exceptional coffee enjoyed by Europeans. And the rest is history.

After evaluating the market, you should have an idea of where your brand can deliver value. From here, you can develop your value proposition. The key is having a clear and simple way of following through. Are expensive coffee and espresso machines the way you’re going to follow through on your value? You must have the resources to deliver on your promise. If not, your brand will fall flat.

Often, brands are so aspirational they fail to keep their feet on the ground. To ground your brand, refine your value proposition delivery system. How are you going to get from A to B? At the end of the day, it’s all about follow through. Is your product going to hit the 8-10 range at a truck stop or down the road, in a different state?

Business Development — No Comments
4
Oct 09

Testing Your Chicken Piccata

Excited to try out my new meat mallet (?), I planned to cook chicken piccata. I’m not a great cook, but an aspiring one. I pounded out the chicken, then cooked it in a pan with white wine. As the wine boiled down, I added more until the chicken was cooked.

Though the breaded outside was more like a doughy crumbling shell, it didn’t look terrible. My expectations were very low for my chicken piccata. Since it was my first time making it and stretch outside of my skill level, what could I expect?

As I sat down eat my somewhat mangled looking piece of chicken, I began to feel like maybe I wasn’t that bad of a chef after all. At least it was in one piece. After I took a bite, my confidence dissolved and was replaced by nausea. Yes, I managed to cook chicken that tasted like death. I settled on peas and rice and tossed the chicken.

Unfortunately, some products and services are like my chicken piccata–no one did a taste test before they were sold on it. Had I spent a minute to check the sauce to make sure it wasn’t too acidic, I could have pulled it off. Unfortunately for me, I was too rushed and busy with washing the dishes and making the rest of the meal. I trusted that everything would go to plan.

Before an important project, whether it’s a new product or ad campaign, test the waters. Gaining some perspective in the near-term will save you from regretting your blind faith in the long-term.

Fortunately for me and the rest of the world, I am not a restaurant chef. There was only the sacrifice of having a vegetarian dinner. For entrepreneurs and industry professionals, much more is at stake. It is your career, reputation and money. Just because you might be rushed or pre-occupied doesn’t mean you would want to leave all of that up to chance, would you?

Business Development — No Comments
15
Sep 09

(Almost Perfect) Sautéed Business

Menus sometimes get overzealous with their said ability to constantly deliver perfect. Menu copy, such as, “perfectly sautéed onions,” or “toast, grilled to perfection” is funny in a way. Does anyone really believe the onions are going to be perfectly sautéed, every time?

Though we all might strive to be perfect we are all fallible beings. Don’t over promise and under deliver.

The same is true with your value proposition. In communications with your customers, do you say, “we always deliver outstanding results” or “we will continuously deliver returns?” Be careful about words like always or continuously (unless you’re running a Ponze scheme, in which case you’re right about the always language).

If you use the “always language,” you’re making unbelievable claims. And unbelievable claims results in a weak and unsupported value proposition. If you have a weak value proposition, what makes you better than the next company?

Though all companies would like to deliver perfectly sautéed onions, every time, because we all are fallible and not gods, “always language” should be an aspiration, not a deliverable.

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