Don't Sell Saddles

Don’t Sell Saddles

This post is based on a true incident that happened at Tiny Speck, the makers of Slack, on July 31st, 2013. 

We have always been told - Build Something that People Want. Most companies build something which is genuinely useful - any user would be better off than they were before. That means they have something people want. What is missing is this - almost none of the people have any idea that they want this new product. How could they ? They’ve never heard of it. At best, only a exceedingly small number would have imagined such a product on their own. These people just know they want something different. They are definitely not specifically looking for the product this company has developed. But then no-one was looking for a WhatsApp.

So, just as much as our job is to build something genuinely useful, makes people’s working lives simpler, more pleasant and more productive, our job is also to understand what people think they want and then translate that value into their terms of understanding.

Even "good marketing”, with the best slogans, ads, landing pages, PR campaigns, etc., will fail miserably, if not supported by the experience (read that as insight) people have when they visit the website, or sign up, or when they first begin using the product and again when they start using it day in, day out.

Therefore, "Understanding what people think they want and then translating that value into their terms” is something we all need to work upon.

Marketing from Both Ends

Product-Market Fit is something that most people in Marketing know - it is the degree to which a product could be successful, given sufficient promotion, appropriate pricing, adequate customer support and so on. However, before you find that fit, all the pushing in the world will not get you anywhere.

Product-Market Fit is the “only thing that matters” for startups. It is a way of thinking about the life of the startup. It has two distinct phases : Before Product-Market Fit and After Product-Market Fit. Only when the product fits the market, the company is able to get traction, to build up sales speed, to spend to promote a product that will actually sell.

Things you need to do before are very different from the things you need to do after.

Most find it easy to get to the middle of the first phase. What is indeed bugging is the fact that it is very, very hard to tell how far they have to go to cross over into the promised land (the last 10%, which requires 90% of the effort).  This requires Marketing from Both Ends :

• Doing a better and better job of providing what people want (whether they know it or not)
• Communicating the above, more and more effectively (so that they know they want it)

At best, it is a chicken or egg dilemma - the product itself and the way people use it should suggest new ways of articulating the value . So, the refinements to how we communicate the value should lead to principles which clarify decision-making around product features and design.

The step forward is simple - Sell the Innovation, not the Product.

Let us think and debate how this can be done. I will share my ideas into your contribution by way of comments and feedback.

I promise you will have a meaning debate and dialogue, not to mention real learning.