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?


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.”


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.


2) Who’s Your Target?• Demographics (males 18-24; married with kids)

• Attitudes (traditional; safety-conscious)

• Behaviors (diet beverage user; donates to charities)


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…..


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?


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…..


“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.”


“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?


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.


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…….


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!


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.


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……


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.


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

Documents

3 tia presentation 'optimizing your venture' 20121103