How to Achieve Messaging-Market Fit by Dan Olsen

1. How to Achieve Messaging-Market Fit Ensuring Message- Market Fit Dan Olsen Olsen Solutions SF PR Summit July 31, 2014 Dan Olsen Olsen Solutions Lean Product & Lean UX August 19, 2014 Silicon Valley Meetup

2. My Background n Technical background n MBA, Stanford n Led Quicken Product Management at Intuit n Led Product Management at Friendster n CEO & cofounder of YourVersion, “Pandora for your news” n Consultant: Box, YouSendIt, Epocrates, OneMedical Will post slides to hQp://slideshare.net/dan_o Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

3. What is Messaging-‐Market Fit? n Lean Startup: Product-‐Market fit n Making sure that customers like your product n What about messaging? n Right features but wrong message? n Messaging-‐Market fit n Making sure that how you message your product resonates with customers Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

4. Dan’s Model for the Causality Underlying Product-‐Market Fit Customer Needs Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons Target Customer Product Customer has needs Product is designed to meet needs Customer decides how well product meets needs (sa7sfac7on)

5. Dan’s Model for the Causality Underlying Messaging-‐Market Fit Customer Needs Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons Target Customer Messaging Customer has needs Messaging is designed to appeal to needs Customer decides how appealing the messaging sounds

9. Market Benefits, Not Features n Most companies focus on features n Lots of reasons why n “People don’t want a quarter-‐inch drill. They want a quarter-‐inch hole.” n Feature-‐speak = non-‐benefits speak n 3rd Genera7on Intel Core i5 Processor n Netgear N300 Wireless Router n Infini7 JX35 (now Infini7 QX60) n Acer C710-‐2055 Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

10. Amazon’s Press Release Technique n Jeff Bezos: “We start with the customer and we work backward” n At Amazon, they write the press release BEFORE they start working on any product n The press release is NOT a product spec n Shorter than 1.5 pages n Needs to use “Oprah speak” Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

11. Amazon Press Release Template 1. Heading: Name the product in a way the reader (i.e. your target customers) will understand. 2. Sub-‐Heading: Describe who the market for the product is and what benefit they get. One sentence only underneath the 7tle. 3. Summary: Give a summary of the product and the benefit. Assume the reader will not read anything else so make this paragraph good. 4. Problem: Describe the problem your product solves. 5. Solu9on: Describe how your product elegantly solves the problem. 6. Quote from You: A quote from a spokesperson in your company. 7. How to Get Started: Describe how easy it is to get started. 8. Customer Quote: Provide a quote from a hypothe7cal customer that describes how they experienced the benefit. 9. Closing and Call to Ac9on: Wrap it up and give pointers where the reader should go next. Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

12. Blackberry Torch 9800 “With a 5-‐megapixel camera with flash, con7nuous auto-‐focus and image stabiliza7on, plus 11 photo modes and video recording, it's easy to capture those spontaneous moments.” Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons • Which words describe features? • Which words describe benefits? • What is ra7o of features to benefits?

13. Blackberry Torch 9800 “With a 5-‐megapixel camera with flash, con7nuous auto-‐focus and image stabiliza7on, plus 11 photo modes and video recording, it's easy to capture those spontaneous moments.” Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons • 6 features • 1 benefit • 6-‐to-‐1 ra7o

14. Blackberry Torch 9800 iPhone 4 “With a 5-‐megapixel camera with flash, con7nuous auto-‐focus and image stabiliza7on, plus 11 photo modes and video recording, it's easy to capture those spontaneous moments.” 6 features : 1 benefit “Take beau7ful, detailed photos with the new 5-‐megapixel camera with built-‐in LED flash. The advanced backside illumina7on sensor captures great pictures even in low light. And the new front-‐facing camera makes it easy to take self-‐portraits.” Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

15. Blackberry Torch 9800 iPhone 4 “With a 5-‐megapixel camera with flash, con7nuous auto-‐focus and image stabiliza7on, plus 11 photo modes and video recording, it's easy to capture those spontaneous moments.” 6 features : 1 benefit “Take beau7ful, detailed photos with the new 5-‐megapixel camera with built-‐in LED flash. The advanced backside illumina7on sensor captures great pictures even in low light. And the new front-‐facing camera makes it easy to take self-‐portraits.” Which words are features? Which benefits? Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

16. “With a 5-‐megapixel camera with flash, con7nuous auto-‐focus and image stabiliza7on, plus 11 photo modes and video recording, it's easy to capture those spontaneous moments.” 6 features : 1 benefit “Take beau7ful, detailed photos with the new 5-‐megapixel camera with built-‐in LED flash. The advanced backside illumina7on sensor captures great pictures even in low light. And the new front-‐facing camera makes it easy to take self-‐portraits.” Blackberry Torch 9800 iPhone 4 4 features : 4 benefits Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

18. Product Space vs. Solu7on Space n NASA: space pen ($1 M R&D cost) n Russians: pencil n Product Space n A customer problem, need, or benefit that the product should address Example: n Ability to write in space (zero gravity) n Solu7on Space n A specific product implementa7on intended to address that benefit Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

19. Problem Space vs. Solu7on Space: Product Level Problem Space (user benefit) Solu7on Space (product) Pen and paper TurboTax TaxCut Prepare my taxes File my taxes Check my taxes Maximize deductions Reduce audit risk Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

20. Customer Benefits “Ladders” Higher-‐level benefit (more abstract) “Save Time” …which means needing less 7me to manage my finances …which is faster than if I had to track down all those balances …which lets me easily see how much money I have Quicken lets me see all my financial accounts in one place Lower-‐level benefit (more specific) Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

21. Kano Model: User Needs & Sa7sfac7on User Sa7sfac7on Delighter (wow) User Dissa7sfac7on Performance (more is beQer) Need not met Need fully met Must Have Needs & features migrate over 7me Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

22. Needs & Preferences vary with Customer: Product-‐Market Framework Example High-‐level need: Transporta7on within 100 miles of my home Soccer Mom Speed Demon • Carry kids & gear • Safety • Fuel economy • Go fast • Looks cool • Makes me look cool Target Customer: Detailed needs: Ideal Product: Soccer Mom Speed Demon

26. What is Your Product Value Proposi7on? n Which user benefits are you providing? n How are you beQer than compe7tors? Compe9tor A Compe9tor B You Must Have Benefit 1 Y Y Y Performance Benefit 1 High Low Med Performance Benefit 2 Low High Low Performance Benefit 3 Med Med High Delighter Benefit 1 Y -‐ -‐ Delighter Benefit 2 -‐ -‐ Y Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

27. Posi7oning n What is Posi7oning? n How you communicate to customers: n What your product/service is n How it’s beQer than others n Specifies n What category your product is in n Your target market n The core benefit/value your product provides n Why it’s beQer than compe7ng products (unique differen7ator) Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

28. Posi7oning Template n <Product name> is a <Product category> for <Target market> that <Core benefit> by <Unique differen:ator>. n Google is a search engine for everyone who uses the internet that helps people quickly find relevant informa7on by having the best algorithms that deliver the fastest and most relevant results. Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

29. Messaging n Posi7oning is important but is not meant for use in customer marke7ng “as is” n Messaging: the specific words you use to convey your posi7oning n Brainstorm messaging ideas from customer benefits n Divergent, itera7ve thinking: “Agile for Messaging” n Write copy. Need different length messages: n Tagline n Sentence n Paragraph n Page Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

30. Principles of Good Messaging n Good messages are: n Easy to understand n Focused: 1 or 2 concepts max n Short (less is more) n Clearly convey benefits to customer n Sound differen7ated n Ownable (by you) Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

31. • Does the ad men7on any features? • Does the ad men7on any benefits (explicitly)?

32. Deconstruc7ng the Message 1,000 songs in your pocket Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons • large # of songs • all of your songs • portable • small, light • can listen anywhere Storage capacity 5 Gigabytes Size 4” x 2.4” x 0.78”

33. 5 gigabytes in just 4” x 2.4” x 0.78”!

34. Large storage capacity, small size!

35. Lets you listen to a large number of songs when you’re on the go!

37. What Didn’t Apple Message? n Easy to Use: Click wheel & screen n Auto-‐Sync n Firewire: 30 7mes faster than USB n BaQery life: 10 hours of listening n Earphones “With iPod, Apple has invented a whole new category of digital music player that lets you put your en7re music collec7on in your pocket and listen to it wherever you go,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “With iPod, listening to music will never be the same again.” Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

39. Other Messaging Examples n Fly the friendly skies n Zoom zoom n Finger lickin’ good n The happiest place on earth n Let your fingers do the walking n Eat fresh n Have it your way n Keeps going and going and going Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

41. Qualita7ve vs. Quan7ta7ve Research Qualita7ve interviews Quan7ta7ve data Oprah Spock

44. Quan7ta7ve Tes7ng n Comparing conversion rates of different messages on n AdWords ads (4-‐Hour Workweek) n Landing pages (Newlix, Smoke test) n Emails n A/B tes7ng (aka split tes7ng) tools: n Op7mizely n Unbounce n Visual Website Op7mizer -‐> VWO n Google Website Op7mizer -‐> Google Analy7cs Content Experiments Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

47. Product-‐Market Fit Case Study: Marke7ngReport.com n My consul7ng client, CEO of TrustedID, had an idea for a new product n Team: me, CEO, head of marke7ng, UI design consultant n Goal: n Validate product-‐market fit quickly, cheaply without wri7ng a single line of code n Determine if there was a business opportunity here Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

48. Product-‐Market Fit Case Study: Developing Product Concept n Product Concept was “marke7ng report” that let consumers control the direct mail that they receive n Concept was fuzzy with various components, so I broke it into 2 different “flavors”: n #1 “Marke7ng Shield”: Service to reduce/stop junk mail n #2 “Marke7ng Saver”: Opt in & receive money-‐ saving offers Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

49. Clustering Poten7al User Benefits to Create Product Concepts “Shield” Concept “Saver” Concept Reduce Junk Mail Find out what “they” know about you Money Saving Offers Compare Yourself to Others Social Networking Marketing Report Marketing Score Marketing Profile Save Trees Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

52. Product-‐Market Fit Case Study: Recrui7ng People n Telephone recruit of prospec7ve customers n Wrote phone-‐screen ques7onnaire to create rough target customer segmenta7on n Wanted users who work full-‐7me & use internet n Fit for opt-‐in offers: use coupons, Costco membership n Fit for an7-‐junk mail: use paper shredder, block caller ID n Paid each person $75 n Scheduled 3 groups of 2 or 3 people to discuss each product concept for 90 minutes n Moderated each group through the paper mockups to hear their feedback Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

53. Product-‐Market Fit Case Study: Findings on Concepts &User Benefits Reduce Junk Mail Find out what “they” know about you Money Saving Offers Compare Yourself to Others Social Networking Marketing Report Marketing Score Marketing Profile Save Trees Legend Strong appeal Some appeal Low appeal “Shield” Concept “Saver” Concept Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

54. Product-‐Market Fit Case Study: Learnings from Research n Learned that “Shield” (an7-‐junk mail) concept was stronger than “Saver” n People didn’t like many of the “Saver” concept components n Learned users’ concerns / ques7ons about “Shield” concept Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

56. Product-‐Market Fit Case Study: Summary n 4 weeks from 1st mee7ng to validated product concept with zero coding n Reasonable cost n 1 round of itera7on on product concept n Iden7fied compelling concept that users are willing to pay $10/month for n Trimmed away non-‐valuable pieces n You can achieve similar results Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

57. Messaging-‐Market Fit Summary n Avoid feature-‐speak n Clarify your target market n Understand which benefits your customers care about & apply Kano Model n Define your value proposi7on & posi7oning n Brainstorm ideas messaging & write copy n Test messaging with customers n Learn, iterate and improve Copyright © 2014 Olsen Solu7ons

58. Ensuring Message- Market Fit Dan Olsen Olsen Solutions SF PR Summit July 31, 2014 hQp://olsensolu7ons.com hQp://slideshare.net/dan_o hQp://linkedin.com/in/danolsen98 @danolsen Questions?