Find Unresolved Problems

Tuned In Process | Find Unresolved Problems | Understand Buyer Personas | Quantify the Impact | Create Breakthrough Experiences | Articulate Powerful Ideas | Establish Authentic Connections | Create a Resonator

How do you know which product and market to focus on?

When you look for a new market opportunity, who do you talk to?

How do you look for your next great product idea?

When looking for new opportunities, do you call your best customer, ask your salespeople what they need or talk to people currently shopping for a product like yours? If so, it is unlikely you will produce an extraordinary opportunity!

Finding unresolved market problems is the key to developing products that are Resonators? You know, the ones that are back-ordered for six months after launch, the products that command a premium price, with customers camping out at midnight to have the chance to buy one when the store opens. Products that seem to "sell themselves".

Was your last product a resonator? Or did it require "clever messaging" "sexy slogans" or a sales contest with a price discount?

Only 10% of products become resonators? Why? Because most companies build products from the inside out, rather than from the outside in. Inside out products come from the R&D Lab, Engineering, Product Development, the board room, or inside the shower as someone prepares for work. Outside in products are developed to solve market problems.

Our research over the last 15 years, working with more than 3,500 companies, found 70% or more of new products or new product decisions were made without market data. That's right, nearly 3 out of 4 products are the result of guessing or assuming!

Where should you be looking for market data? The answer may surprise you, but asking your current customers is the last place you should go. Here's why.

Your market is comprised of three distinct buyer types:

Potential Customers People who have problems your product could solve, but are not shopping for solutions. Evaluators People who know they have a problem and are actively shopping, may have asked you for a proposal, but have not bought anything from you. Customers People who have problems your distinctive competence solves, have shopped and engaged with you by purchasing your solution.

As you can see, focusing on the total market, beginning with potential customers, represents the greatest opportunity. And, you'll receive some of the best unresolved problems from this group (with some additional information from the Evaluators group).

Why not current customers? Your existing customers do play a role in finding unresolved problems, but they have already defined you for what they perceive you can and cannot provide and therefore will filter their comments and concerns in relation to this experience.

How do you know if your team is building/launching products from the inside out?

If you see or hear any of the following, you may be tuned out to finding unresolved market problems:

“We need to create a need in the minds of our buyers…”
“We need better sell sheets that educate our customers”
“Our customers need training to understand the value our product (service) provides”
“Our sales team just needs to learn how to overcome objections to our product”
“Our new products are incremental improvements to existing products so no learning is involved”
“We need to run a sale on our new product because we have excess inventory”

If you are nodding your head here, rest assured you're not alone! Over 90% of companies observe this at some point.

What can you do to get Tuned In?

1. Interview your market with an open mind
2. Treat buyers like market experts
3. Remember, you are asking and listening NOT SELLING!
4. Meet buyers on their own turf (whenever possible)
5. Don’t talk about your company , products or services, just listen
6. Aling team member and performance objectives to understanding unresolved market problems
7. Use open ended questions

Open-ended questions require elaboration and often uncover the "golden nugget" problems that can become resonators. To get you started, here are a few suggestions.

1. What was your biggest challenge last week?
2. What is your most important priority this week?
3. What do you think about on your commute to work each day?
4. What do you think about on your commute home from work?
5. If there was a product or service that could help you the most, what would it do?
6. Is there a current process or a product that adds difficulty to your job?
7. What do you see as your biggest challenge over the next 12 months?
8. If we could take away your biggest headache, what would it be?
9. What do your internal and or external customers complain about?
10. If you owned a company that designs product solutions, what would you want me to invent for you?

Once you find possible unresolved problems, some drill-down questions include:

1. How does that make you feel?
2. What do you see as next steps to resolve this?
3. Can you tell me more about…
4. Why?
5. Why?

Words of caution
If a buyer cannot answer your open-ended questions, either they don't understand what you are asking or don’t really want to answer. Try giving a little explanation, or reframing the question. If the answer is still vague, you may want to ask yourself why? It may be personal or a topic your subject doesn't want to explore, or they may not have adequate training or experience to answer. Some organizations implement policies that forbid the disclosure of data perceived to be proprietary, is this the problem here? You could also try framing your question in relation to the market and not the organization of the person you are interviewing.

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If you would like to learn more about finding unresolved problems, please contact us.