you are not your customer

You Are Not Your Customer

Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit Baltimore, MD 9/29/16

Bob London, Chief Listening Officer

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Paul: I brought you a picture of me,

Bob London!

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Paul: I brought you a picture of me,

Bob London!

An elegant,

hand-carved

frame made

of the finest

Brazilian

teak!

I even

autographe

d it!

Featuring my

patented

“casual-jacket-

thrown-over-

the-shoulder”

pose!

Full color!

Ummmm…thanks…But what would have been nice…

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That’s more like it!

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TOO MUCH MARKETING IS

FORGETTABLE & INEFFECTIVE BECAUSE

MARKETERS HAVE THE WRONG

PERSPECTIVE:THEIR OWN

September 2012: T-Mobile Hires John Legere as CEO

September 2012: T-Mobile Hires John Legere as CEO

• 4th place US wireless carrier

• Losing subscribers to AT&T, Verizon

• Commoditized

It’s all about network coverage maps, right?

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Legere found a visceral window into the public’s angst. “None of the technology mattered.”

“There was this plethora of hatred for this industry and this never-ending list of things people wanted to change.”

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“My head exploded, and I just went on a rant about the wireless industry and how I didn’t get it.”

“People hate contracts. Let’s not have them! ‘You can’t,’ people said. Why?”

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“People hate contracts. Let’s not have them! ‘You can’t,’ people said. Why?”

ELEVATOR RANT

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T-Mobile Share Price vs. Major Indices

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First Quarter 2016: “T-Mobile Lapped the Field”

T-Mobile31%

AT&T3%

Sprint3%

Verizon1%

New Activation Customers, 1Q16

Source: Fortune Magazine, 4/19/2016

Most Marketers “Get” the Customers’ Perspective,

Right?

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McKinsey: “How

companies talk past

their customers”

“The themes that many

companies consider important

appear to have minimal influence

on buyers’ perceptions.”

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McKinsey: “How

companies talk past

their customers”

“The themes that many

companies consider important

appear to have minimal influence

on buyers’ perceptions.”

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McKinsey: “How

companies talk past

their customers”

“The themes that many

companies consider important

appear to have minimal influence

on buyers’ perceptions.”

“We can solve all your problems!”

“Can you solve my specific problem better than anyone else?”

How do we fix the disconnect &

discover what’s valuable from the

customers’ perspective?

We Can Try Asking Them

Interviews with 600+decision-makers to discover

their Elevator Rants.

“Magic” Questions to Discover the Customers’ Elevator Rant (Sample)

What are your top 2 – 3 priorities for the board?

What might you get fired for not doing?What do we do better than anyone else?

What would you lose if we

went out of business?

What do other vendors do that annoy you?

Does my industry have a reputation—good or bad?

What’s your worst fear about investing in (product or service)?

What would make you a customer for life?

“Magic” Questions to Discover the Customers’ Elevator Rant (Sample)

What are your top 2 – 3 priorities for the board?

What might you get fired for not doing?

What do we do better than anyone else?

What would you lose if we went out of business?

What do other vendors do that annoy you?

Does my industry have a reputation—good or bad?What’s your worst fear about investing in (product or service)?

What would make you a customer for life?

“Magic” Questions to Discover the Customers’ Elevator Rant (Sample)

What are your top 2 – 3 priorities for the board?

What might you get fired for not doing?

What do we do better than anyone else?

What would you lose if we went out of business?

What do other vendors do that annoy you?

Does my industry have a reputation—good or bad?

What’s your worst fear about investing in (product or service)?

What would make you a customer for life?

2 Year Old Cloud Management Software Firm with $0 Sales

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“Our platform helps you gain visibility & control over your public, private & hybrid cloud environments. You can reduce costs & run your cloud more efficiently.”

2 Year Old Cloud Management Software Firm with $0 Sales

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“Our platform helps you gain visibility & control over your public, private & hybrid cloud environments. You can reduce costs & run your cloud more efficiently.”

“Wow, you’re trying to do an awful lot in one piece of software. I’m not sure what problem it solves. No thanks.”

“Is there one specific problem it solves really well?”

2 Year Old Cloud Management Software Firm with $0 Sales

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“Is there one specific problem it solves really well?”

“One feature is like a programmable light switch that turns off your cloud when you’re not using it. This reduces your monthly costs by 20 – 60%.”

“Now that’s cool. Can I just buy that & not the whole platform?”

CUSTOMERS’ ELEVATOR

RANT

Pivot to Simple Enterprise Web App

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Pivot to Simple Enterprise Web App

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2 YEARS WITH NO CUSTOMERS

OR REVENUE

Pivot to Simple Enterprise Web App

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RAISED $1.65M IN VENTURE FUNDING

Now What?

Real conversations with real humans.

Discover their Elevator Rant

Learn how they buy.

Learn the real language they use.

Stay objective. Never get defensive!

You’re a Marketer. Listen to the Market

Now What?Then Transform Your Marketing

Focus on features & benefits that matter most from target’s perspective.

Emphasize the problem you solve best and prove it.

Use the customer’s language in your marketing.

Help their research: Provide more facts than narrative.

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Fix Your Perspective—

Then Fix Your Marketing.

Thank You!