If you’re preparing to launch a new product—or have ever relished the experience of removing one from its packaging—this episode is for you. The popularity of “unboxing” is just one illustration of how important product packaging has become. Packaging is no longer merely to “protect, deliver and entice;” but a highly experiential differentiating opportunity for smart product brands. Guest Dave Hopkins is a packaging advisor who believes great packaging aims to surprise and delight consumers—which translates into a sales and brand-building advantage. Graphos Product: http://graphosproduct.com Dave Hopkins’ "Quickie Podcast - Interviews for Graphic Designers" iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-quickie-interviews-for-graphic-designers/id1463743075 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6cX7gO7xbN2x2UKkZtVBQd?si=bRaCyjCTQt2szdswKXP_bA Graphos Product: https://www.graphosproduct.com

Surprise & Delight: How Packaging Can Be Your Competitive Advantage with Dave Hopkins

We‘re all obsessed with product brands, especially those driven by a vision and purpose. Product: Knowledge explores the art of the product launch, from secret Obsession Branding™ techniques to product positioning, product-market fit and other specialized attributes of product marketing that combine to become the difference between stratospheric success stories and catastrophic product failures. It’s the podcast about creating and marketing SaaS, B2B and consumer products people truly need.

Laurier Mandin is founder and CEO of Graphos Product. As the leader of an international product marketing agency, he flushes out insights and creates a window into the fascinating world of product Go-to-Market strategy and successful product launches.

https://graphosproduct.com/

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It can be infuriating how much time your marketing efforts take—especially when they get zero traction.  Wouldn't it be great if you could focus on acing activities you know will generate results? Chris Smith, cofounder of Curaytor and author of the bestselling (and newly revised edition of) “The Conversion Code,” shares data-proven ways to attract and convert buyers by making smarter use of all the tools you use, from text messages to TikTok.  After working for two billionaires, a billion-dollar publicly traded company and a startup that was acquired for 9 figures, Chris wrote “Peoplework” and the first edition of “The Conversion Code,” now used to teach marketing at Johns Hopkins University. In the six years since that first edition was published, the marketing landscape has been turned on its head by privacy restrictions, and Chris knew it was time to offer new solutions. Lots of them. In this mind-blowing episode, Chris Smith shares some of the most valuable insights from the new book, including clever hacks and tricks you can use right away to get exceptional results from your website, social media, TikTok—and everything you do. Buy The Conversion Code 2nd Edition on Amazon
Curaytor Website: https://www.curaytor.com
Graphos Product, The Product Marketing Agency website: GraphosProduct.com

Cracking the Conversion Code for your Product, with Chris Smith

It's not unusual for product makers to be terrified by the mere notion of product validation work. Often over-invested emotionally and financially in the product, they're afraid of what they might learn. And many don’t have confidence in their approach to conducting validation research. 
But the learning will come one way or another, Darshan Mehta points out. And far better to get as many insights as possible early on, while there is time to make changes and the cost of doing so will never again be so low.  There is nothing worse than learning once a product is IN the market that it has fatal flaws—except for discovering equally far along that nobody wants to buy it! 
Darshan Mehta is the founder of iResearch, and author of “Getting to Aha!: Why Today’s Insights Are Tomorrow’s Facts.” In this episode, he explains the fascinating nature of insights, and how they can help validate product ideas and lead to meaningful discoveries for improvements. At iResearch, Darshan has created a unique resource for conducting cost-effective and insightful online focus groups via chat, anywhere in the world and in any language. Whether you are considering traditional focus groups, surveys, or interviews with prospective users, you'll find Darshan’s advice timely and helpful.  
It might even fast-track the “Aha!” moment you really need. Episode Highlights:  • Why we do product research (01:00)
• How insights predict the future (03:50)
• The real-world masters of testing and iteration (04:45)
• Fatal research flaws of product giants (05:37)
• Focus groups come in various forms (07:55)
• When customers are never wrong (09:36)
• Listen now or learn later: take your pick (11:21)
• Finding the people who represent your market (13:40)
• Learning to recognize and tap into insights (15:45)
• Conducting research without focus groups (16:46)
• The downside of analytics (18:29)
• Using insights to fill important gaps (19:04) Buy Getting to Aha!: Why Today’s Insights Are Tomorrow’s Facts on Amazon
iResearch Website: iresearch.com
Graphos Product, The Product Marketing Agency website: GraphosProduct.com

Getting to “Aha!” in Product Validation, with Darshan Mehta

Nearly all product companies grapple with pricing. What model is the best fit? How do you maximize the market value for a novel product without losing customers when it comes time to pay?  Dan Balcauski has spent 15 years helping product makers solve exactly these challenges. As founder of Austin, Texas-based Product Tranquility, Dan has guided many products from new concept incubation through successful launches and transitions. He helps high volume SaaS companies assess pricing practices and optimize pricing and packaging, guiding his clients to make the most impactful pricing decisions and communicate value convincingly to decision makers.  Highlights of this episode:
• How to know the value of a brand new product (01:47)
• What emotional value is, and why it matters (02:39)
• The purpose of Jobs To Be Done in pricing (03:33)
• How Airbnb got its value proposition right (07:04)
• The 4 components of Packaging (09:09)
• Why Freemium is a terrible idea (11:46)
• Upgrading perpetual license customers to subscription (13:05)
• Why Who and How you charge is what determines success (19:18)
• How to approach Willingness To Pay questions (20:00)
• The critical importance of segmentation (23:44)
• Talking to the RIGHT people about pricing (25:16)
• What most product makers get wrong with pricing (26:40)
• Understanding the process of pricing to do it right (30:32) Product Tranquility Website: producttranquility.com
Graphos Product, The Product Marketing Agency website

Pricing a Product for Long-Term Profit, with Dan Balcauski

Ever noticed that while most brands battle constantly with competitors for small gains, leaders like Apple, Tesla and Amazon play in an entirely different sphere? Stan Bernard, author of “Brands Don't Win” believes it's because the branding game is a lost cause. In this episode, he tells you how leaders transcend branding by creating a game no one else can win — and how to do it for your product. As a senior fellow at the Wharton School of Business, Stan Bernard taught his Transcender System to MBA students for 14 years. He's been a consultant to top businesses for nearly four decades, and over 15,000 professionals have taken part in his business "War Games" simulations, his seminars and speaking engagements.  Stan's new book walks you through the Transcender System's proven and practical three steps, with case studies including Amazon, Starbucks, Nike and Tesla as well as emerging leaders like Halotop and Peloton. Join Graphos Product President and Lead Consultant Laurier Mandin for this mind-blowing discussion with Stan Bernard. Episode Highlights: 
01:30 What makes the Transcender System "the world's most powerful winning system for companies and their products." 
02:45 How Transcender businesses, like successful political campaigns, use Agendas to focus and win
04:30 How Starbucks “Transcended” from one store per year in 1987 to 1,350 stores per year
07:15 The 3 ways to win: Competitive Creation, Competitive Re-creation and Competitive Categorization
11:15 Why "competitive advantages" are setting the bar too low
15:14 How changing up the Agenda can hurt your product
20:45 The four steps to communicating the Agenda: Memorable, Ownable, Winnable and Alignable
25:30 The Transcender System's "Four Winning A's" to champion and execute the Agenda effectively
35:00 How to adopt a Winning Mindset to lead your business through the Transcender System Buy “Brands Don't Win” on Amazon
Graphos Product, The Product Marketing Agency website: GraphosProduct.com
Bernard & Associates website: DrStanBernard.com

The Secret System Behind the World’s Top Products, with “Brands Don’t Win” Author Stan Bernard

R-RRIP! That was the way we've marketed and sold products for ages, being torn apart. Facebook, Google Ads and other digital ad platforms have been hammered by consumer privacy implementations, making it impossible for many advertisers to sell their products online profitably.   Meanwhile, a succession of unbelievable supply chain issues make costs and material availability a nightmare that threatens the future of nearly every product maker—including those sourcing locally.  Maureen Mwangi teaches growing product makers to navigate challenges like these profitably, and joins host Laurier Mandin to share advice and insider tips from her work in launching products for the likes of Lays, L'Oréal, Dove and Chobani. She explains why huge brands like GE, Toshiba and Johnson & Johnson are suddenly transforming to become smaller, and what that says to startups and growth-oriented product businesses. It's a jam-packed episode that covers many of the most important challenges facing product makers and product managers in the incredibly transformative era unfolding before us day-to-day. Here are a few of the highlights: 1:04 What you can learn from product giants becoming smaller, and have customers lean into your “smallness”
3:52 The two factors that MOST influence a customer’s buying decision, and how they relate to your product
5:44 How to leverage Fame, Frequency and Fluency to make your brand a household word with any audience
6:46 Why “scientific precision” is the key to profitability and success for a product business
8:48 Value Based Pricing, and how it can transform a product business into a profit leader
12:11 How to transition safely from a PPC-dependant eCommerce business to your own retail storefront
16:20 Why product makers’ growth strategy is different now, and how to embrace community building 
18:35 How to manage supply chain gaps and avoid disappointing loyal customers
20:55 What is a “cash multiplier system,” and how having one can dramatically increase profitability
22:40 The one sure way to prevent customers from turning to your competition Startward Consulting: https://www.startwardconsulting.com
Graphos Product, the product marketing agency: graphosproduct.com

Surprise & Delight: How Packaging Can Be Your Competitive Advantage with Dave Hopkins

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