Archive for dov gordon
How to Make Your Products and Services Stand Out – Part 1.
Posted by: | CommentsThe company with the deepest understanding, the deepest awareness of the very real motivations, fears, passions, and aspirations of their customers, will develop the innovative and profitable products and services.
There is almost always a gap, often a tremendous gap, between what we believe to be the reasons our customers buy from us and the real reasons they buy from us. And studies show that we are very likely to believe that our business is different and the last sentence doesn’t apply to us. (Wiggle out of that one. 
Far too many companies are afraid – yes downright scared – to ask the customers what they really, honestly think and feel. They are afraid of what the customers may say. They choose short term comfort and long term mediocrity over short term pain and long term excellence. So they do market research.
You don’t need to do market research. You do need to acquire market understanding. Deep understanding. And much of what passes for market research will not help you understand because…
Market research is an activity, an input. Market understanding it an output, a result.
Most market research fails to give market understanding because the objectives of the research are poorly articulated and there’s too much focus on the methodology, the activity.
Always begin by asking “What do we most want to understand? Why?” and “How will we use the information once we collect it? Why?”
Most quantitative surveys are poorly structured; even downright reckless. They generate answers that should not be used for decision making. Did you read about my experience taking a survey about cottage cheese?
The best market understanding is achieved when (1) you really, really care about the customer and (2) you are not afraid of what they may tell you because you’re willing to suffer some pain today so you can be excellent – and really stand out – tomorrow.
Look out Next Week for Part 2
In Part 1 we talked about the importance of articulating what you do as results, not as a job title or task.
Now that you can articulate the results you can bring to the fortunate company who will hire you, it’s time to make a list of companies who can likely benefit from such results.
The idea here is to come up with a list of companies, whether you know someone there or not. Whether they’ve advertised an opening or not.
1. Make a list of companies where you believe you can make an important difference.
2. Next: Identify the person or people in that company who need the results you can create and have the authority to hire, or at least, some kind of budget.
How can you find these people? Talk to friends. Use tools like Facebook and LinkedIn. Help wanted ads. Attend events they may attend and so on. It may take some digging and persistence but when you are looking for a job, looking is your full time job. Treat it that way with focus, discipline and by being systematic.
It may take a few links to get to the end of the chain. Ask about the outcomes: “Who in your company really cares that the user interface will be the software equivalent of good poetry?”
“Why, that would be Jane Smith,” you are told.
3. Learn more about Jane, her responsibilities and interests. The better you understand someone, the easier it is to present yourself as just the person they need.
People will and should guard company information and privacy. Even so, if you ask open questions that don’t back your contact into a corner, you’ll get some useful information much of the time.
Once you know who you are looking for, the challenge is to move things along to the next step – a phone call with Jane and then a meeting. (Notice I didn’t say “interview.” More about that in Part 3.)
SOME POINTERS:
- Your list of companies could be long – and probably should be. But work on a handful at a time so that you can do a proper job.
- You can never know where success will eventually come from. While you put one foot in front of another, keep your eyes and ears open for unexpected opportunities.
- Remember to focus your conversations on results, as we discussed in Part 1.
There’s a tremendous difference between saying “I help companies implement controls and manage risks” and saying “I’m the one who ensures you won’t wake up one morning up six months from now, open a newspaper and discover that you are personally liable for someone else’s irresponsibility or outright theft.” Who would you hire?
In Part 3 we’ll share some pointers for making contact and beginning a relationship with your potential new boss.
PS – If you’d like a very simple Excel spreadsheet to track your job hunting efforts, please send me an email and I’ll get it over to you. dovgordon at gmail dot com
