A presentation delivered at the Venture Entrepreneur summit in 2014 to discuss product development best practice, incorporating advice on digital and social media, determining product/market fit and more.

1. PRODUCTS NEED CUSTOMERS.
MARKETING MAKES MARKETS.
@HughStephens
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2. 2
Where I come from.

3. MY CRAZY IDEAS
‘10
Too much time
`13
??
Next Big Thing™
`11 `14
3NOT SHOWN: failures x1,000 & ideas x1,000,000,000
Previous:
Life,
Irrelevant
degrees,
“that IT dude”.

4. 4
Not everything is technical.

5. • Marketing. WTF?
• Advertising. WTF?
• PR. WTF?
• MarCommsPRAdvertising. WTF?
– What it won’t do.
• Markets. Finding them.
• Products. Making them.
• Identifying product/market fit.
• Customers. Creating/finding/selling them.
• Personal development & learning.
• Unsolicited life (?business) advice.
What I’m ranting about
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6. DEFINING SOME STUFF
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Everything starts with a definition & meaning.

7. • Marketing
– is the process of communicating the value of a product or service to customers, for the
purpose of selling that product or service
• Communications
– the sharing of information between people within an organisation that is performed
for the commercial benefit of an organisation; relays information within a business; or
functions as an official statement from a company.
• Public Relations
– is the practice of managing the spread of information between an individual or an
organization and the public. [think media relations]
• Advertising
– a form of marketing communication used to encourage, persuade, or manipulate an
audience (viewers, readers or listeners; sometimes a specific group) to take or
continue to take some action
Some quick definitions
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8. MARCOMMSPRADVERTISING
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9. BRANDING ISN’T JUST A NAME.
KNOWLEDGE ISN’T A SILO.
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10. 10
Kodak’s brand is big. Company not so much.

11. OICTURE OF MARKET
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This is not a market. It sells to one.

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13. 13
Markets don’t stand still

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Sometimes, you lead.

15. 15
Sometimes, you follow.

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Blue ocean, or existing market?

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Products start with an idea, or a problem.

18. • Your startup needs to provide value.
• Value is subjective.
• Easiest way to produce value is to solve a problem.
• Ideas are smart ways to solve a problem.
• What problem do you solve for your customers?
• Value is to the customer, not to the business.
Problems and ideas
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19. 19
What you don’t do is just as important as what you do.

20. 20
Finding the fit is a journey.

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Your customers come with you.

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Or sometimes they don’t.

23. KNOW WHEN TO PIVOT,
KNOW WHEN TO FAIL.
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24. ‘YOU CAN SELL ANYTHING WITH
ADVERTISING’
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Not all ideas are worth fighting for.

25. YOU CAN ONLY POLISH A
TURD SO MUCH. 25

26. 26

27. Finding your audience.
• Identify
• Research
• Speak with
• Research
• Define
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28. • Marketing is about identifying your audience and how to reach them.
• Who is your audience? What do they do/consume/visit/browse/use?
• What makes you special or unique? [USP]
– What value do you provide?
• Advertising is a way to insert yourself into their flow. It’s interruptive.
• PR is a way to do the same, with some more subtlety.
• Digital is good, digital is cheap. It will not solve your problems though.
• Social is good, social is cheap. It will not solve your problems though.
• Print is good, print can sometimes be cheap. It will not solve your problems
though.
• TV is good, TV is not cheap. It will not solve your problems.
• YMMV.
But how do you marketing?
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29. • Audience  value  research.
• Test, test, test.
• Start cheap, scale up.
• Communicate your value. Do they see it?
• A website can be used as a platform to test, takes 5
minutes.
• Find a friend, mentor, neighbour, parent (…)
Where to start?!?!
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30. 1. Work out the problem you’re solving
2. Identify who you solve it for (market)
3. Think of something to solve the problem (product)
4. Ask the people whether it’s a problem worth solving with product.
5. Build the minimum viable product.
6. Go back, ask for money. No money = no commitment.
7. Speak to customers every day.
8. Build out the product.
9. Find more customers.
10. Sell more s$*t.
11. ?????
12. PROFIT
Shipping s*^t, in 12 easy steps
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31. READ.
READ OFTEN, READ WIDELY
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32. TRUISMS ARE RARELY TRUE.
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33. DIGITAL OR SOCIAL WILL
NOT SOLVE YOUR
PROBLEMS. 33

34. PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
SOLVE PROBLEMS.
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35. DO EVERYTHING, AT LEAST ONCE.
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36. NEVER OUTSOURCE
CORE CAPABILITIES
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37. IT’S OKAY TO STIR THINGS UP.
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38. MENTORS ARE THERE TO MENTOR.
BOARDS WORK THAT WAY TOO.
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39. TRANSPARENCY GOES A LONG
WAY 39

40. IDEAS ARE CHEAP.
EXECUTION IS HARD.
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41. WITHOUT GOALS YOU DON’T
KNOW YOUR SUCCESS.
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42. Success is simple*
Do what you love.
Just make sure someone will buy it.
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@hughstephens | hugh@dialogueconsulting.com.au