Recently, when conducting research on why people purchased a specific brand of shower cleaner I was shocked at one of the responses from a member of the focus group.
Did she buy it because of the brand name? Did she buy it because the label said “Heavy Duty”? Did she buy it because a friend recommended it?
No, no and no.
She bought it because of something a marketer probably didn’t think of—she wanted a product to use while she’s standing in the shower taking a shower. When I pressed on this question she said, “I’m a busy mom, and my time is precious. If those scrubbing bubbles will clean the shower while I’m washing my hair, I’ll do it.”
I recently read a book by Harvard Business Professor, Clayton Christensen, entitled, Competing Against Luck, The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice. (Buy it and devour it because it will forever change the way to think about marketing.) FranklinCovey has taken it one step further and created a workshop based on Clayton Christensen’s theories called, Find Out Why. One of the core premises of the book is that your product development team may be creating products that don’t match the need of the consumer. As a result, your marketing team is promoting the product incorrectly. To find the real reason people like and use your product, you need to interview them and dive deep into why they chose your product over another solution.
The woman from the focus group could’ve used any number of solutions to solve her circumstance of, “I’m a busy mom and need to clean my shower,” including hiring a cleaning service. But her financial situation may not allow her the luxury to do that. Instead, she improvised on something that met her need.
With this information in hand, should someone create a shower cleaner that is designed for this specific purpose? Perhaps create a non-toxic version of the product and market it as such? (I have to admit that I was concerned about the toxicity of the product when I heard her talking.) Regardless, there’s a market for this solution. Don’t believe me? Check these out these posts:
Exhibit A: “Cleaning the shower while taking a shower.”
Exhibit B: “Cleaning the shower while in it and naked.”
Exhibit C: “What is the easiest way to clean a shower?”
Think: What problem do your clients have and what “work-around” have they discovered? How can you build and market a solution to meet these needs?
Thought: “Every once in a while, a new technology, an old problem, and a big idea turn into an innovation.”—Dean Kamen