Outcome driven process innovation

To be honest I dislike talking about large scale organisations as they tend not to be my customer base and often managers do not consider something to be their responsibility. However occasionally it is worth talking about such organisations because it is often clearer when the real needs and desires of customers are simply not...

Want to join Kotler (7Ps of marketing) by taking the guesswork out of growth?

Longer post on the various jobs to be done techniques and how these can be used by any company to transform the way they do business.

“Cheaper, Better, Faster,” A child explains why needs statements are not fit for purpose.

Whenever you interview people about needs statements or how they would improve a product or service at least one person says something akin  to "Cheaper, Better, Faster". Such a statement is rarely possible to turn into any meaningful action because you have to interpret what each of the three words means. You are likely to...

Which is better needs analysis or focusing on the Jobs to be done? A five year old decides.

After a short twitter conversation, I was flicking through Tony Ulwick’s “what customer wants” the other day and was reminded of one of a number of reasons why I decided to focus my business on utilising this framework.  In a word it can be summed up by one word: “Pushing” Not pushing in terms of...

Improving start up support

Recent research from Crowdfunders shows that in some sense nothing has changed when you are looking to start a business – it is either to put your hand in your own pocket or rely on the banks.  This gives the impression to people looking to become a entrepreneur need to be rich or well-connected. Before...

Guide to creating an evidence-based marketing strategy (in-depth post)

Guide on how to structure your market research for an evidence-based marketing strategy

Creating value in the construction industry

Theodore Levitt’s observation that people do not buy a drill bit, they buy a hole was one of the starting points for the Jobs to be Done (JTBD) theory, so it is no surprise that some companies in the industry inherently understand the basic tenants of the concept. The industry does suffer still from a...

Preparing for 2017 and the potential onset of Fake News

Contrary to popular opinion the world will not end the day that President Trump takes office and now is a good time to prepare for 2017.  In over 90% of companies, managers are not clear as to what their customer needs are let along what they want.  As a result their gut feel approach to...

How to improve a market research programme

A questionnaire is an extension of the brand. It will be resented if too long or it asks questions that overload the interviewee.

What is the job to be done in measuring communications?

Without doubt the way that business communications and marketing methods are assessed needs to change.  Digital marketing has seen to this providing what appears to be a comprehensive funneling system, but other marketing channels are less well served but are still important.  No one would suggest to an air conditioning manufacturer to spend all his...