I’ve been “binge watching” Mad Men. For those of you who do not watch as much TV as I do, “Mad Men” is a drama series set in the early 1960’s about an advertising agency in New York. Things that stand out about the show (apart from the startling image of just about all the characters chain smoking), are the adherence to period detail in all the clothes and set design, the male chauvinistic attitudes of all the male characters towards their wives and secretaries, and above all, it appears that advertising hasn’t changed all that much in the last 55 years…
In one scene, the main character, Don Draper – head of the Creative Department is trying to win the account of a department store that needs a boost to sales…..”Tell me” he says “Tell me about the ladies that you want to shop at your store….where do they live? ….How old are they?……Where do they socialise?…Who do they vote for?….”
In another scene, the creative department is trying how to figure out the sales/ad pitch for a very strange contraption……electric pads that strap around the waist and thighs, and vibrate…apparently to encourage weight loss. In desperation – and not convinced about the weight loss claims of the device – the men ask one of the secretaries to try it out. With great embarrassment she reports back that the device did not help her lose weight…but it did have a very ‘pleasurable” vibrating sensation….
“Thank God!” Don Draper says…..”A benefit!”
And what on earth do these two scenes have to do with inventing a product?
- Design your Product for your Ideal Customer.
You are already designing a product that solves a problem, maybe a labour saving device for the home for example. Let the design and functionality reflect the person who will purchase it … what age group are you designing your product for? Will the weight/size/colour be a deciding factor in the purchase decision? Will your ideal client have children? Will that mean extra safety features? Is this a luxury item? How affluent is your ideal consumer? What type of packaging will they be drawn to ?
This isn’t just an issue when you are marketing your product – if you start with the end consumer in mind, your design, functionality, packaging, and ultimately where you sell and market your product, will be sharply focused on that ideal customer….resulting in far more successful sales.
- Focus on Benefits, not Features
As innovators, we sometimes get caught up with the beauty of the engineering, the quality of the materials and workmanship, the horse power of the motor…
All these things are important, but they are FEATURES….not BENEFITS. If we are to think like entrepreneurs, rather than inventors, we need to focus on the benefits that our products bring, if we are to ultimately make a profit.
“Features” are characteristics of your product. Features alone will not sell your product.
“Benefits” are the advantages that your product has for your customer.
For example, if your new product is a revolutionary frying pan, for example, one of the features may be that it is ceramic. The benefit or advantage to the customer is that the frying pan is hard wearing. A benefit takes a feature of your product and turns it into something that is advantageous for your customer….something that will persuade your customer to buy your product.
When we look at the most successful innovations of the last fifty years, they are the ones that appear to have been made – especially for us – the products that we believe we can’t do without, they bring so many benefits to our lives…the fictional Don Draper knew this, as have all the great innovators and entrepreneurs of the last 55 years…….make sure you join them!
