Podcast Summary
Product Marketing: Imagining a stand-up comedian doing a routine about your product and preserving unique features are key elements in successful product marketing.
Marketing plays a crucial role in a product's success, often more than we realize. Steve Jobs, a brilliant salesman and marketer, understood this well. He believed that if you could imagine a stand-up comedian doing a routine about your product, then you're onto something. Rory Sutherland, a vice chairman of Ogilvy, author, and founder of Nudge Stock, encourages thinking from first principles and using human psychology to design and build products. Good marketing often involves preserving slightly odd things that make your product distinctive. Consumers generally prefer evolution over complete reinvention, and idiosyncrasies can count double. Even failed products can be revived with the right marketing strategy. Timing and preserving unique features are essential.
Counterintuitive quirks: Unexpected features or experiences can create memorable and engaging identities, as shown by Rolls-Royce's headlight pedal and MCI's Friends and Family plan.
Sometimes, the most memorable and effective products or experiences are those that embrace the unusual or counterintuitive. This can capture our attention and create a distinctive identity. Rolls-Royce cars, for instance, had a pedal for dipping headlights instead of a stalk, which was less practical for manual transmissions but became a recognizable feature. Similarly, MCI's Friends and Family plan, which offered discounts on frequently called numbers, garnered more interest than a simple price reduction across the board. These quirks, though seemingly irrational, can make a product or experience more engaging and memorable. The comedian's observation of the world around him and the unexpected success of BBC's acquisition of The Killing from Danish broadcaster are other examples of the power of the unconventional. So, instead of always striving for logical and rational solutions, consider the potential of the slightly weird or counterintuitive to create unique and impactful experiences.
Real-world decision making: Traditional intelligence tests and multiple choice questions may not accurately reflect real-life decision-making as they lack proportionality, complete information, and the ability to handle complex, ambiguous situations. Successful companies prioritize clear objectives, autonomy, and a human-centered approach to foster creativity, motivation, and better decision-making.
Traditional intelligence tests and multiple choice questions, which assume a single right answer, may not accurately reflect real-life decision-making. These tests lack proportionality, complete information, and the ability to handle complex, ambiguous situations. Real-world decisions often involve multiple right answers, irrelevant information, and a need to adapt to changing circumstances. Companies like Octopus Energy and Shopify have found success by allowing small, autonomous teams to make decisions, creating a more human-centered approach. These companies prioritize clear objectives, autonomy, and a sense of obligation and reciprocity among team members. Successful companies like AO also prioritize treating customers like family, focusing on customer satisfaction rather than metrics like speed and efficiency. By designing for humanity rather than organizational structures, businesses can foster creativity, motivation, and better decision-making.
Workplace Demotivation: The excessive focus on quantifiable metrics and suppression of autonomy can lead to workplace demotivation and dehumanization. It's crucial to acknowledge the significance of human qualities and autonomy in decision-making.
The relentless pursuit of quantifiable metrics and the suppression of autonomy and judgment in the workplace can lead to demotivation and dehumanization. An extreme example of this is the Soviet-style capitalism that prioritizes quarterly targets over long-term solutions and employee well-being. This approach ignores the importance of human qualities like ethics, memory, instinct, and creativity in decision-making. The urge for quantification and decychologization of problems can result in a deeply demotivating work environment. Furthermore, the evolution of the human brain has equipped us with psychological mechanisms for decision-making under uncertainty, yet most procedures we encounter are designed for decision-making under certainty. The ability to behave irrationally and unpredictably can be a rational strategy in certain circumstances, such as in business negotiations or when being chased by a predator. Moreover, our brains have two strong default modes: habit and social copying. These modes make evolutionary sense because they help us avoid poisonous berries and learn from others in new environments. In conclusion, it's essential to recognize the importance of human qualities and autonomy in the workplace and to design procedures that account for the complexity and uncertainty of real-world situations.
Marketing influence on product adoption: Effective marketing and timing are crucial factors in the success of new and innovative products, often influencing people's decisions based on social norms and experiences.
Marketing plays a crucial role in the success of new and innovative products, often being a decisive factor in their adoption. This is because people tend to make decisions based on social norms and the experiences of their neighbors, rather than purely rational calculations. The success of products like solar panels, heat pumps, electric cars, and even the iPhone, are often attributed to their inherent merits, but in reality, effective marketing and timing were also essential factors. For instance, the widespread adoption of electricity, smallpox vaccination, and even the mobile phone, were all influenced by marketing campaigns and social pressure. Additionally, there have been numerous innovative products that failed despite their merits due to poor timing or marketing. Therefore, it's important for businesses to consider marketing as an integral part of their strategy, rather than an afterthought.
Timing and psychological hurdles in innovation: Success in innovation depends on both timing and overcoming psychological barriers. Outdated technologies and ideas can have potential, but may face resistance due to psychological factors. Even if a product or idea fails in the past, it's worth revisiting and adapting to new contexts.
The success of a product or idea often depends on timing and overcoming psychological hurdles. The speaker expresses frustration over outdated technologies and products that didn't reach their potential, such as dry toilets in the Western Hemisphere versus water-cleansing toilets in Japan, or the lack of adoption of Google Glass. He also mentions the failure of some internet ideas, like the Chonby and Food Fairy, due to being too early or facing psychological barriers. The speaker believes that even if a product or idea fails in the past, it doesn't mean it shouldn't be tried again. He also shares his excitement about products that could have succeeded but didn't, such as video conferencing on TV during the pandemic. Overall, the speaker's perspective is that innovation and progress can be slow, but it's important to keep trying and adapting to new technologies and ideas.
Ancient Persian decision-making process: Considering unconventional ideas alongside logical ones in decision-making can increase chances of successful innovation, as practiced by the ancient Persians
Successful innovation often requires considering unconventional ideas alongside the logical and rational ones. This idea can be operationalized by following a two-stage decision-making process, as the ancient Persians did, where ideas are presented to both rational and irrational thinkers before implementation. Many failed products, like the early electric car, suffered not from technical issues but from negative user imagery and societal perceptions. By understanding the importance of considering the silly or unconventional ideas alongside the logical ones, companies can increase their chances of successful innovation.
Early adoption and innovation: Early adoption of new technology and ideas can start as a display of status or novelty, but eventually becomes functional and valuable. Consistency, distinctiveness, and fame are important for startups looking to build a brand.
Early adoption of new technology and ideas often starts as a display of status or novelty, but eventually becomes functional and valuable. Birds evolved wings for display before they became a means of flight, and similarly, early investors and innovators provide the funding and evangelism for promising ideas before they reach maturity. However, marketers and those in creative industries often have a higher openness to new experiences and can come across as outliers in corporate environments. Marita Iwakawa's decision to keep the Walkman as a single-function device was an inspired move, as it focused consumer attention and simplified the decision-making process. For startups looking to build a brand, consistency, distinctiveness, and fame are key. Being consistent helps establish trust and recognition, while distinctiveness sets a company apart from competitors. Fame, though often overlooked, can lead to exponential growth and unexpected applications for a product.
Brand Fame and Business Success: Building a great brand involves consistency, distinctiveness, and fame, leading to increased trust, longer employee tenure, and more customer loyalty. The value of brand-building is exponential and long-term, requiring a shift in perspective to accurately evaluate its impact.
Fame plays a significant role in business success, and its value is not easily quantifiable. People's brains are wired to respond differently to familiar brands or companies, leading to various advantages such as increased trust, longer employee tenure, and more customer loyalty. Building a great brand involves consistency, distinctiveness, and fame, which contributes to trust and reputation. The value of brand-building is not linear but exponential, and it's essential to consider the long-term effects rather than focusing solely on short-term metrics. The relationship between fame and business success is complex, with non-linear and compounding factors at play. We need to shift our perspective and embrace a different kind of maths to accurately evaluate the value of marketing activities.
Marketing and Product Development: Consider marketing and product development as parallel processes, not separate entities, to increase chances of success in innovation and development.
When building a product, it's essential to consider the psychological, technological, and economic aspects in parallel, rather than in series. The process of innovation and development is not linear, and businesses often fail at first iteration but succeed with a pivot. Marketing and technology, as well as marketing and innovation, should not be treated as separate entities but rather two sides of the same coin. Companies can either find out what people want and create it or make something and find a way to make people want it. Don't leave marketing to the last minute, but work on it in parallel with product development. For more insights, check out Rory Sutherland's book "Alchemy," available on Audible, Kindle, and from all good bookshops. Additionally, if you're in the transportation industry, consider reading "Transport for Humans," co-written with Pete Dyson. Remember, the best way to support the show is by subscribing, rating, or leaving a review on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening!