Being bold
Recently, I read a client-recommended book by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler called “BOLD”. The title is the plot: go bold; go big; take moonshots. “BOLD” is simple, straightforward, yet easily forgotten-about business advice.
“BOLD” reminds us to give ourselves permission and hold ourselves accountable. To be bold is to break things, innovate, fail smartly and disrupt. As the authors point out, there is a cost to NOT being bold.
Kodak, the company known for camera film, is a classic case of the tragedy of complacency. Kodak became a victim of its own invention when it “hid” the digital camera because digital threatened its legacy film business. It passed on innovating and being bold.
Diamandis and Kotler got me thinking. Basic principles of economics tell us that without innovation, the gravity of time and competition destines each service and product to become a commodity. And for B2B service firms, maintaining a competitive advantage means to thrive with innovation and live at the intersection of unknowns.
A company can determine its market position based on a combination of knowns and unknowns: the literal product or service and the problem its product or service solves. Understanding a company’s market position is critical to identifying opportunities for growth and making smart, market-directed decisions. The chart below describes the market position for all unknown/known combinations.
Market Position Based on a Company’s Offering
In the Commodity quadrant, the buyer knows the problem and knows the solution, and all solutions are created equal except for price and convenience. Office supplies is a good commodities example. There is no value-add.
In the Solution quadrant, the buyer already knows what they need; they are not yet sure of the best solution based on such criteria as performance, price and special features. CRM software falls in the Solution quadrant where there is a degree of value-add, sometimes, in the form of unique engineering.
In the Consultative quadrant, the buyer is not realizing desired outcomes, but is unsure about the reasons for, or source of, the constraint: unknown problem, unknown solution. The indicators all point to a system that should have favorable outcomes, yet results are unsatisfactory. And they’ve likely tried and failed many times. They seek understanding, insight and a collaborative solution.
The Market Development quadrant is for those products or services developed to address niche markets. Often, they are funded by venture capital and establish a new product or service category.
If your desired market position is Consultative, innovation is necessary to defy gravity and maintain a unique market position. But let me help you know where to start. Your innovation process should look a little something like this:
1. Through the voice of the customer interview process, uncover the answers that elude your customers.
2. As BOLD recommends, you may consider developing a ‘lab’ as a separate functional area to build the model.
3. The new model will have a discovery process for prospects and customers to gain deeper, collective understanding
4. With the results from steps 1 through 3, develop your value proposition, emphasizing both the destination and the journey of the experience with your company
5. Focus your value statements using Outcome Marketing
6. Take the idea to a client, prospect, and test the hypothesis in a pilot setting
Your discovery process with customers and prospects will uncover the “unknowns” you need to solve. The winners will be, well, bold and disruptive.