In my business I see a lot
products and services, all of which I'm responsible to
promote. Conceptually there are some winners, honorable
mentions and out right stinkers. At the end of the day, if
sales are less than projections, the knee-jerk reaction is to
fault your marketing efforts. "Was it the strategy, the
creative, the list?—Lets try it again, this time only
different."
Sound familiar? If so, sit back you’re not
going to like this.
You’re product or service may be a
stinker.
The classic advice dispensed by self-styled
gurus is to make sure that your "new thing" addresses an
immediate need. "Sell aspirin, not vitamins" they
say.
Even in today’s organic-wheat-grass-drinking
culture, it's easier to convince some guy to part with 8 bucks
if you're eliminating a bitchin’ hangover rather than simply
enhancing his general health and making his pee smell
funny.
Sounds good right? I cut my teeth on that catchy
yet simple advice, unfortunately it’s wrong. The problem with
this mantra is that it limits your efforts to solving obvious
problems. For example, "party boy" knows he has a headache;
they may not be aware that he’s on the verge of coming down
with scurvy and could really use some Vitamin C.
The
alternative to the aspirin/vitamin dichotomy is the "Microwave
Test".
To determine if you’re product or service passes
the test, ask yourself three simple questions:
Does it
have a clear benefit?
Does it deliver immediate
satisfaction?
Is it easy to use?
1. Does it have a
clear benefit?
Yep. It's a solution that found a problem –
for those of us old enough to remember, taking an hour to cook
dinner wasn't considered a slow and painful death until the
microwave came along.
2. Does it deliver immediate
satisfaction?
Duh, it’s a microwave. You can use it
anytime. And besides, who doesn't like to watch a cup or bowl
spin around? And if you’re looking for cheap entertainment you
can nuke a piece of aluminum foil. Oh, try this too. Lick a
piece of popcorn and put it to your ear. No. It has nothing to
do with a microwave or marketing but it’s pretty
cool.
3. Is it easy to use?
You know it, just push a
few buttons and ding! Beefaroni's ready, hot and plenty of
it.
Long story short, even though the microwave is more
of a vitamin than an aspirin, its ability to fill an immediate
need and deliver instant gratification makes it a clear
winner.
Even if your existing offerings fail the test,
you can use the criteria to reshape them. A modern example is
how Palm rebounded from its failed Zoomer handheld (what a
piece of "S" that was).
The original PDAs failed the
microwave test. The benefits were unclear, the gratification
was delayed by complexity, and ease of use was fatally
crippled because it wasn't easy to use.
Palm then
delivered the Palm Pilot, which addressed those issues and
passed the test. The Palm Pilot had a clear benefit (a date
and address book on crack), was immediately gratifying (you
could synch with your existing contact database), and was
incredibly simple to use (no boot time, no extras, just the
facts ma'am). And like the microwave, the Palm wound up
creating its own immediate need. Just ask the millions of—look
at me I'm so cool—Palm junkies around the world. The new logo
didn't hurt either.
Author Name: Scott HardigreeAuthor Email: scott@ecisive.comAuthor Website:
http://www.ecisive.com
