I spend a couple hours today, reviewing handouts from an SMU Marketing seminar. In one article, Marketing success through differentiation -- of anything, author Theodore Levitt says there is no such thing as a commodity:
The customer never just buys the generic product like steel, or wheat... He buys something that transcends these designations -- and what the "something" is helps determine from whom he'll buy, what he'll pay...
That "something" may be a delivery time or the way your staff deals with the customer. In fact, the generic product is table stakes -- the minimum needed to enter the game. Just as a poker player distinguishes himself by his play, so will a company distinguish itself by the way it differentiates its products.
Levitt provides an example of how one investment bank packages it services: An investment bank provides an exclusive entrance with special stationary. The implicit assumption? VIP treatment of certain visitors will persuade them of VIP results. What's more, Levitt writes that alert, imaginative product managers can make a difference -- ambidextrous product management becomes a point of differentiation.
Several months ago, I worked with a company that developed custom software. Part of the process included a review of a design document with customers who had little technical knowledge. And yet, during the review, the software company included UML diagrams and other technical trivia. By now, you can imagine the long silences and glazed looks from customers who endured these water torture reviews.
This customer experience augmented the product in a negative fashion. All things being equal the customers would have preferred to skip the ritual of a text-based review with all the technical trimmings. Indeed, customers asked this company why they were not using prototypes. Instead of anticipating customer needs and creating positive experiences, these employees were either tied to tradition or more interested in their own experiences.
That's why hiring an innovative product manager is a key decision. Because differentiating your product may start with someone who can audit customer experiences and create tangible and intangible features that delight your customers.
tags: Product Management