SGFI 20th Aug Marketing & Sales - Kris Childress

7/30/2019 SGFI 20th Aug Marketing & Sales - Kris Childress

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Customer/Market Engagement

Kris Childress

The Founder Institute

20 August 2013



Mythbusting• Myth #1: “Customer is always right”

Reality: customer is often wrong but he/she has themoney – respect but don’t fawn

• Myth #2: “Cheaper is always better” Reality: cost and value a complex interplay. Cost notthe only variable.

• Myth #3: “Customers are not always rational” Reality: actually, this is true. Customers makedecisions for a host of “irrational” reasons that theythen rationalize.



Reality

“Nothing Lives In A Vacuum . .

. Especially Marketing”



Missing the Mark

• The Greek word “hamartia (ἁμαρτία)” or “sin”means, literally, “to miss the mark” as in an archermissing his target – not hitting the bulls eye

• A major “sin” in marketing is “missing the mark” bynot understanding customers’ needs and motivations



Understanding first

• Who is your customer . . . EXACTLY?

• Consumer: age, gender, income,education,ethnicity, values, marital Status, # of children, etc.?

• Business: size, age,sophistication,products/services, etc.? WHO withinorganization?

• All - what is the buying process/cycle/time?



Case History: CEM COrp.Understanding Your Market Can Divert Disaster



CEM Corp: The Company

CEM was started in the US in the late 70’s by achemist & two engineers

CEM is “the world's leading provider of innovativemicrowave systems and solutions for critical

laboratory applications”

The original product was an automated microwavethat rapidly weighed, dried, and reweighed a

sample to measure the percent moisture/solids



The CEM Challenge Pt 1

The CEMAVC-MP, the

original“automatedmicrowave

moisture . . .

analyzer”ran a test in

<5 min.

Traditionalmanualthermal

gravimetric(weigh-dry-

cool-

reweigh)method =1-4 hours or

more

The firstAVC costaround

US$10K (in

1981!).

In 1981 – I joined – CEM selling

mostly to

labs



The CEM Corp. Challenge Pt

2Slow Early Sales - Lab managers often

resisted buying CEM’s analyzers because:

Labs preferredbatching

dozens of samples at a

time

CEM analyzerswere

“expensive” andrequiredconstantattention

CEM was not an

“approvedmethod” – not“official” results



Digging for The TruthTalking with the few buyers showed that:

Generallybought byproduction –

not the lab

$$$$$ justification

Value NOT labefficiency. . . but

timely data toinform CRITICAL

ACTIONS



What Was the Problem?

Simple

The Wrong Value Proposition

to the Wrong People



CEM Success

Story

Paper plant stopping coating machines for anyreason -> 30 minute solids test on the liquidcoatings before restarts.

Downtime was about $1,000 an hour.

CEM test = 2 minutes . . . paid for itself in a week.(The plant later bought two more).

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.automation.com/images/article/abb/Paper_Rolls_from_the_paper_mill-low-res.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.automation.com/resources-tools/application-stories/motor-drives-inverters-controls-ac-dc-flux-vfd/mechanical-cams-made-cam-less-and-paper-rewinders-sectionalized&h=378&w=504&sz=143&tbnid=GtbTudF9gzOaIM::&tbnh=98&tbnw=130&prev=/images?q=paper+mill+images&usg=__iRhAiqJ6ZXBQt1S-htaLhguptgg=&ei=g_jlSYujD5KYkQWZwcTVCw&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=2&ct=image



CEM Marketing/Sales

Approach

OLD

Faster analysis =greater labproductivity/efficiency/flexibility

Who? – Labmanager/QC

NEW

Faster analysis =“real time” info tosave or makemoneyWho?- LineManagement



Moving AheadBusiness Model Canvases and a Whole Lot More



What Your Canvas Should

Look LIke



Your Canvas



Before you canvas• Research your

prospective market(s)

• Talk with

knowledgeable folk

• Think very hard about

where to start

• But don’t delay too

long “getting out of the

building”!



Critical questions

• Has anyone tried thisbefore?

• If yes, what happened?

• If no, why not?

• Is there a similar businessout there? What can Ilearn from it?



Critical Questions Pt 2• Focus on the

problem/pain/desire.

(MVP).

• Innovate around

failures.

• Look for “gaps”.

• Think the customer

experience through

from beginning to end



Test with “Real Stuff”

• Move to “Showing”/”Experiencing” not just telling

• Make the experience as REAL as possible

• Let the interviewee talk (don’t guide too much!)

• Be creative

• Record reactions where possible, ask if you can

share.



Creative Interaction

• Startup was proposing an

interactive computer

program for senior centers

• Did not have “touch” screen

• Simulated touch screen onmock up with assistant

using mouse to track finger

movements



Understand Customers

What do your customers want? – Listen

Do you have successes? – Understand Why

Do you have failures? – Understand Why

Where do your potential customers meet? – Go there

What do your potential customers read? – Read It

What are their motivations? – Ask Questions AND OBSERVE

(what keeps them awake?)–



Bonus: Three Things to Do

• Find and join any LinkedIn group(s) in your domain

• Identify 3 trade groups in your domain, if possible• Subscribe to (at least) three news feeds in your

domain (Google Alerts can be one)



Thank You ~

Questions?

Documents

SGFI 20th Aug Marketing & Sales - Kris Childress