Dinner and product development may have more in similar than you thought. Below is a simple, and by no means comprehensive, framework that may shed some light on why certain products are more easily digested than others.
Consumers choose products like they choose a meal. They ask themselves three main questions:
1) How does it look? (Mouth-watering = Clear and appealing value proposition)
-In both food and products, presentation counts. However delicious a food may be, most people will never try it looks unfamiliar or if they can’t conceive its taste beforehand. Similarly, if your product’s value proposition cannot be communicated without a trial, many people will never give it a chance.
2) How easy is it to eat? (Easy to consume = Simple to use)
-Blue fin crabs may be delicious but you’ll never catch me picking them- it’s just too much of a hassle. Similarly, many products can create the desired effect, but require too much discipline, expertise, or patience to use.
3) How does it taste/how good is it for you? (Tasty = Valuable)
-This is obvious for food and products. If people don’t like what they deliver, they won’t use them.
So how would certain certain foods/products stack up? Let’s see.
FOODS
Lobster- 1: like a sea insect, 2: a pain in the ass, 3: delicious
Wedding cake- 1: beautiful, 2: easy, 3: never as good as it looks
Strawberries- 1: delicious, 2: couldn’t be simpler, 3: god’s candy
PRODUCTS
Twitter- 1: confusing, 2: easy as sms, 3: depends how you use it
Getting Things Done Software- 1: sounds like a good idea, 2: need to change work flow, 3: at the end of the day, discipline, not GTD software, determines what gets done
Pandora- 1: “Internet radio”- I get that, 2: turn it on and forget about it, 3: the only thing that makes sitting in front of my computer for 14 hours bearable
This analysis predicts that online radio is may be more “adoptable” than microblogging. Thoughts?
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Thursday, December 10, 2009
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