challenging the status quo

AIPMMNovember 8-10, 2006

© Linda Gorchels 2006 1

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Linda M. GorchelsDirector of Executive Marketing Curriculum

Fluno Center for Executive Education

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Fluno Center for Executive EducationUW-Madison School of Business

(608) 441-7336 [email protected]://exed.wisc.edu/marketing/



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Sellers controlled the “old days”

3 networks

Seller’s choice of options

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Seller’s time schedule Standard marketing

research

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…Now customers are in charge

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And product managers must respond

Balance science (data) and art (intuition) to go beyond formulaic approachesg y pp

Shift mentality from a company’s internal and selling processes to customers’ buying processes, i.e., what, why, and how they want to buy

R hi k h l f b d d

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Rethink the elements of brand and positioning

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What do customers buy?

Predictability in an unpredictable world

Don’t tell me about your grass seed; tell me about my lawn.

People don’t buy drills -- they buy the ability to make holes

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buy the ability to make holes.

A complete music solution



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Ask yourself …

Am I selling what target customers want to buy?y– portfolio? solution?– capabilities vs. usability?

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Can you build a simpler product?

Design products for specific market needs. More features can equate to more complexity and less value.

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Ask yourself …


Am I selling the way they want to buy?– locational convenience

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How would you expect to buy …

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Ask yourself …


Am I selling the way they want to buy?– locational convenience

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Am I communicating in the customer’s own words with relevant benefits?

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Are these words customers would use?

“XYZ Company’s solution is a comprehensive, integrated, and strategic customer care solution consisting of products and services that provide analytical capabilities, channel integration,

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y p , g ,process and sales improvement, and subject matter expertise to the industry.”



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In other words …

SW2CSW2CThe product is the full set of tangible and intangible benefits that a buyer might gain from a firm’s offering after purchasing it This

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from a firm s offering after purchasing it. This includes the core offering and all its augmentations.

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What is a brand?

From the perspective of a product manager, a brand is a stereotyped image g yp gthat customers use to make purchase decisions. It may be the image of your company, your product or service, or some combination of variables.

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A strong brand is aA strong brand is a deliverable promise of specific customer value.

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A strong brand has a clear and unique image that is relevant and stands for something important to

targeted customers

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targeted customers.



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h t ll thhat are all the ways a customer forms an impression of “brand” …?

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Brand personality

Understand the nuances of brand personality.p y

Is your brand …– fun?– exciting?– dependable?

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– conservative?



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Cross-over positioning

Can I position the product into a different category, or create a new product category?g y p g y

Cartoon or Adult Family Sitcom?

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Secondary association positioning

Secondary associations include company, country of origin, causes, p y y gspokespeople, etc.

Marketer is borrowing or leveraging these associations for the new product

May be important when a unique brand id i i diffi l i i h i

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identity is difficult to attain without itHowever, it must be relevant



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Cardinal rules

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And in the end …

Product managers will always need to balance science and art

A fresh perspective on ambiguous information and how customers buy may yield new insights into improved product management

A brand positioning should be different from the competition, based on core strengths, and

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be relevant to the target customers

challenging the status quo

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