Product and service obsession can be a trap that limits what your offerings eventually deliver at usage or experience points. It is time you start thinking about what is in it for your customers.
Customers don’t buy products. They buy value. They buy ease to solve lingering difficulties. They buy image-boosting assets to show off class. They buy speed to use time well. They buy durability to keep costs in check. They buy satisfaction. They buy happiness. They buy comfort.
Having worked with a number of young people who have gone ahead to launch successful SME ventures based on insights received via the Governor Sanwo-Olu’s Project Lagos of Our Dream (Project LOUD) skill development initiative, I have seen how accurately mapping customer value expectations and thinking innovatively regarding product develop can make a difference. Being the coordinator of the highly impactful state initiative I also qualify to share a few insights with brooding entrepreneurs.
Get this. Products are made of three parts. The first part is the core product, which is the real value or fundamental benefit targeted at a perceived customer pain point. The second part is the actual product, the physical part that embodies the core concept of the product. The third part is the augmented product, the value-added elements such as after-sale calls, complaints hotline, amongst others, designed to boost customer experience at before, during and after sale.
Let’s see an instance. The core product of Toyota cars is fuel economy. The actual product is the physical car and the engine. The augmented product is the different service centres and dealerships that the company has built across cities to service customers. Precisely, a Toyota car is built around fuel economy. Every aspect of the car’s development is designed to align with that core focus. If it is not saving you fuel. It is not Toyota.
Hence, the core product idea is a vital part of the product development concept. The core product is where you answer questions of customer value delivery, comprising how the product will make the users feel, what the gap between costs and usage experience would look like, and how the product will enhance the users’ lives generally.
So, take a breather before you rush into building a product. Think about what the core product would look like. Would it match the buyers’ expectations? Would it fit into or enhance their lifestyles?
Therefore, to build a product that answers the question of what is in it for the customers, you must take these three approaches:
Draw a customer benefit map – At this level, you are trying to understand the market you are about to serve. You want to know the psychography of the market you are about to serve in terms of how they think, how they reason, where they want to be, what is missing in their lives, what they can afford, what products and services are currently servicing them and what the shortcomings of those products are. These insights will help you conceptualise a strong and appealing product at the core, actual and augmented levels.
Think innovatively – An accurate customer benefit map should provide insights into what is missing in the target market. Catering to those needs may require doing things differently. For Toyota to race to the top of the automobile market, it thought about doing what auto-manufacturers like Ford weren’t doing or doing what they were doing even in a better way. It focused on manufacturing car lines that capture both the pocket and the mind. Meaning it appealed to the wallet in terms of fuel economy and added beauty in design. It was easier to pull the market at that stage. If you focus on developing a ‘me-to’ product, you would be on the fringe of the market. To break out of the ‘me-too’ group, you must bring on board some innovation.
Tie in value – Value means different things to different classes of people. To consumers at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, value could mean getting a cheap product without much quality. Meanwhile, for those at the upper level of the ladder, value may involve image and quality at whatever cost. If you are able to map your customer benefits accurately, you should be able to choose what segment of the market you would like to serve and build core, actual and augmented products that match their value perception.
You may not be able to serve everyone in a particular market. But by mapping your customer, pivoting to innovation that drives value, you can build products that answer the question of what is in it for the customer segment you serve. Remember, customers buy value.
Prince Kenny Bakare is a Senior Special Assistant on Grassroots Empowerment in Lagos State. He is also the coordinator of the Governor Sanwo-Olu’s Project Lagos of Our Dream (Project LOUD) skills development initiative, a platform for equipping young people in the state for enterprise success and increased economic contributory role.
