Product: Knowledge

Marketing is all about differentiation. The leaders behind every product brand have thought about, rehearsed, or delivered an elevator speech about why you should choose their offering—but VERY few have baked in a concise way of articulating it to their customers.

If you create physical products, the most important differentiation may not be the products themselves. In fact, focusing too much on selling your product features is probably counter-productive. Research is clear that people make decisions on a deeply emotional level, and then consciously rationalize the decision to explain it. But how do we make use of knowing customer choices are emotional? How do you begin to differentiate your product, emotionally?

Ian Chamandy  and Ken Aber wrote the book “Why Should I choose you: Answering the Most Important Question in Business In Seven Words or Less.” They’ve developed a process for companies to come up with more than just a mission statement: it’s a promise, a core differentiator and an attitude. And another essential quality: it must be very short—no more than seven words. These principles all translate directly to product brands, and cracking the seven-word code for your own can change its competitive landscape.

Graphos Product founder and CEO Laurier Mandin talked with Ian Chamandy on Skype to do a deeper dive.

Blueprint: https://www.7words.biz/

"Why Should I choose you: Answering the Most Important Question in Business In Seven Words or Less."
https://www.amazon.ca/Should-Choose-Seven-Words-Less/dp/1443436399/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=why+should+I+choose+you&qid=1584993641&sr=8-1

Graphos Product: https://graphosproduct.com/

Podcasting is just complicated enough to introduce anxiety and resistance for those who might otherwise want to try sharing their voice. A new audio market segment of "podcast mixer-recorders" aims to address the complexity problem. Podcasting is complicated because usually more than one speaker is involved. Getting audio into a computer is easy. Getting broadcast quality from disparate sources, for people who all need to hear the same thing at the same time—some of whom may be in another part of the world—is not.

Graphos Product uses a RØDECaster Pro for in-studio podcast and audio recording. It's the first entry and leader in that brand new podcast mixer-recorder segment. But when Andreas was in the market to buy a replacement recorder for his home studio, he chose a different device: the ZOOM L-8. That apparent contradiction opened up internal discussions about the differences between competing devices, including the aesthetic and psychology of design, and how complexity works for or against a product.

For Andreas, mobility, audio quality, and reliability were the top priorities. To him, a studio is inherently complex because of its diverse instantaneous requirements, and a visually simplified interface in reality means navigating through layers of controls via a touch-screen menu. On a more “complicated” board like the ZOOM L-8, almost everything is available instantaneously.

We decided to turn the podcast recorder design conversation into a podcast—and brought in ZOOM North America's product specialist Samuel Greene. (Seeking balance, we also reached out to RØDE who has so far opted out.) The conversation ranges from the reasoning behind including or excluding certain kinds of software or hardware, always with the end-user in mind.

We talked to Samuel on Skype about the decisions that go into creating a device for a market segment that’s familiar, yet in many ways completely new. Along the way, we came across themes that will resonate with anyone involved in taking a new product to market, including developing features, balancing the demands of a vocal user base—and navigating a crisis situation.

The Zoom L-8: https://www.zoom-na.com/products/production-recording/live-sound-recording/zoom-livetrak-l-8
Graphos Product: https://graphosproduct.com/
The RØDECaster Pro: https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro

Inspiration for a new product can come from anywhere—even a pet store. Once you’re inspired and you’ve got a fire in your belly, you need to find a way to make your idea real. Having ideas is easy; paying for them, not so much.

Some startups use their own money or try to find angel investors. It can be equally challenging and discouraging to find venture capital for modest-scale projects. Crowdfunding is a more recent approach to investment capital. While micro-support is a popular idea, it still requires a dedicated marketing strategy and execution to succeed. No one doubt that Kickstarter often works, but how and when it works best is more mysterious. 

Jackson Cunningham is the founder of Tuft and Paw, an online pet furniture store that says its products are “Modern cat furniture both cats and humans will love.” Jackson started a Kickstarter campaign to fund a new cat litter box called, “the Cove.”  The fundraising goal was US $10,000. Clearly the COVE is a good idea because it reached its goal within hours and has raised over TEN TIMES the goal to $150,000 with 10 days left in the campaign.

What are the most important elements of a Kickstarter campaign? How many people are involved? Where do you even begin? Jackson Cunningham Skyped from Vancouver and joined Graphos Product CEO Laurier Mandin to talk about The Cove cat litter box, including how Tuft and Paw engaged the company’s online community to help design it.

Tuft and Paw: https://www.tuftandpaw.com
Graphos Product: https://www.graphosproduct.com

Naming a company is more complicated than naming a baby. It just is. There’s more family involvement. Is the product for men, women, seniors; is it for a particular activity or sport that has its own jargon and vocabulary? What country is the product going to be sold in—now and down the road? What are the social mores of that country, and what cultural taboos do we need to avoid; which buttons are we able to push without offending? It’s like learning a new language. We do it all the time, and everyone in marketing has said, “Someone needs to write a book about this.” 

Jeremy Miller, the author of "Sticky Branding" has written a brand new book called… “Brand New Name” — a proven step-by-step process to create an unforgettable brand name.

The book codifies the brand naming process and guides you on ways to think about a name. There are abstract names, concrete names, acronyms, and more. Jeremy Miller’s approach to naming a brand has a lot in common with how we think about it and develop and execute product naming strategy for our own clients, so it was a pleasure to just drop the list of questions and talk shop about this really critical first step for a new product.

https://stickybranding.com/brand-new-name-book/
https://graphosproduct.com/

For our first episode of 2020, we go to the very heart of product launch: the product development cycle.

It used to be that if you had a product idea you had to not only finesse the ideation, but somehow cobble together a development team for each stage of the process. For first-time inventors or even seasoned product brands, it was a journey fraught with pitfalls.

Technology has transformed the product development cycle. Photorealistic 3D rendering makes visualizing new products easy. Your product can be near-perfect, but to be successful, the marketing, packaging, and shipping need to be at the same level. It's a staggering array of moving parts. And often the biggest barrier is knowing where to start, especially knowing your manufacturer will produce your product a world away, in a foreign language and culture.

Kyle Handfield knows exactly where to start. His company, Ventrify, leads brands and inventors through the entire product development cycle using a nine-step process starting with discovery, and culminating with shipping. The consultancy also provides industrial design, engineering, testing—even going as far as managing regulatory certifications.

We invited Kyle Handfield into the Graphos Product recording studio to share his sharp perspective of the broad product development process, and insights into what to do (and avoid). It’s stuff inventors, product brands and entrepreneurs need to hear.

Ventrify's website: https://ventrify.net
Graphos Product: https://graphosproduct.com

If you ask Mom what she thinks about your new product, she’ll lie and tell you it’s fabulous — even if nothing could be farther from the truth.

When you’re launching an innovative product, product-market fit is essential. That means knowing a sufficient, reachable customer base will be more excited about the product than you are. Conducting validation research is crucial. But the questions you ask is where things often start to go wrong.

If market research questions return answers like, “I think it’s a good idea,” or “I’d buy that,” it’s NOT a good thing.
chances are, you're asking the wrong questions — especially because the responses are so hollowly encouraging. Remember, the respondent has no skin in the game, and talk is free.

People will naturally lie to you, just like Mom, because it feels helpful and is easy. No one wants to hurt your feelings. Trouble is, when your market survey respondents don’t give you the straight goods, it defeats the purpose of validation work, and bad data can bait you toward product failure.

Author Rob Fitzpatrick has been a tinkerer and tech entrepreneur for over a decade. He believes you can avoid mistakes by asking questions that elicit the answers you NEED, not the ones that make you feel good. Complements, verbal support, and new ideas can feel helpful, but in conversation with Graphos Product CEO Laurier Mandin, Rob Fitzpatrick says it’s much better to ask questions about people’s problems or challenges — as well as current solutions and what they cost.

If you ask someone how often they go to the gym, they’ll probably inflate the number. If you ask “how many times did you go to the gym last week,” you’ll probably get a more realistic answer. Rob's first book, "The Mom Test" is taught at Harvard, MIT, UCL and many other top universities.

Rob Fitzpatrick - https://robfitz.com

Graphos Product - https://graphosproduct.com

Buy The Mom Test on Amazon

Manufacturing in China is different. How different is hard to describe if you’ve never seen it. It’s not that there are cities with factories. There are cities OF factories. And those cities often specialize in a particular kind of manufacturing. Competition is extreme and cutting corners is common.

Having a good idea for a product is one thing, but you can’t exactly open the yellow pages and find which city of factories specializes in laser pointers. Where do you even start?

Daniel Sande is a manufacturing sourcing agent. He found success in people, and uses technology to communicate with manufacturers, plus he’s establishing a networks of people in China who can put eyes and hands on products as they come off the line to verify everything is according to spec, including packaging, shipping, labelling and customs.

Daniel Sande is Managing Director of HotShot Sourcing, a consultancy that helps product brands source bulk orders, packaging, and custom-branded materials. He can be reached at [email protected]

Graphos Product: https://www.graphosproduct.com

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A licensing deal can be transformative to an inventor or product brand. It can open up new markets and create ongoing passive income. But doing it wrong can be a nightmare and leave piles of money on the table. 

In our fourth instalment of Product: Knowledge, we did a fly-over of intellectual property with Erika Murray, an Intellectual Property Lawyer and Director of Innovation at PCK Intellectual Property. This episode drills down into a sub-topic of intellectual property: licensing. 

Licensing is Trevor Prentice's specialty. He's an Intellectual Property Strategist. He’s worked with businesses in a wide range of industries and circumstance. In this conversation we get a clear definition of licensing. Trevor also explains how a good licensing strategy can benefit the inventor and brand, and even propel a new product forward. 

We talk about how to decide what to license, valuation strategies to figure out what your product or process is worth, what you can license, and more. 

What’s clear is talking to an IP strategist like Trevor Prentice can contribute to your bottom line and make issues around intellectual property easier to navigate.

Trevor Prentice at Whiverwill IP Services: https://www.whiverwill.com/
Graphos Product: https://www.graphosproduct.com

A little research into “Product Marketing” and the name Justin Jackson will show up, a lot. Whether he’s running his podcasting platform Transistor.fm, his bootstrapper community MegaMaker, writing his blog, juggling multiple podcasts and Twitter accounts while being daddy to his four kids, Justin Jackson is remarkably prolific.
 
Justin thinks about product launches and marketing a lot, because he doesn’t accept conventional wisdom; he’s a keen observer of both brand and consumer behaviours. Justin says rather than trying to get the market to find your product, you need to take your product to a market that’s ready, eager—and sizeable. The discussion covers a lot of ground, but it’s tightly focused on making consumers aware of products. This the conclusion of our two-part conversation with Justin Jackson.

Justin's blog: JustinJackson.ca
Justin's favourite coffee hangout in Vernon, BC: ratiocoffee.ca
The MegaMaker community for bootstrappers: megamaker.co

Graphos Product: https://www.graphosproduct.com

A little research into “Product Marketing” and the name Justin Jackson will show up, a lot. Whether he’s running his podcasting platform Transistor.fm, his bootstrapper community MegaMaker, writing his blog, juggling multiple podcasts and Twitter accounts while being daddy to his four kids, Justin Jackson is remarkably prolific.
 
Justin thinks about product launches and marketing endlessly, because he doesn’t accept conventional wisdom; he’s a keen observer of both brand and consumer behaviours. Justin says rather than trying to get the market to find your product, you need to take your product to a market that’s ready, eager—and sizeable. The discussion covers a lot of ground, but it’s tightly focused on making consumers aware of products. This the first of our two-part conversation with Justin Jackson.

Justin's blog: JustinJackson.ca
Justin's favourite coffee shop: ratiocoffee.ca
The MegaMaker community for bootstrappers: megamaker.co

Graphos Product: https://www.graphosproduct.com