• Innovative Strategies That Create More Profits

Month: May 2020

Why Start Developing A Company Before Having Product-Market Fit?

Posted on by harborcapitalgroupinc

People have product ideas all the time. Many of them are probably not winners. The number one reason they fail is achieving product-market fit.  Yes, not enough money is also a big reason for failure, But money alone cannot make a startup successful. Remember Pets.com. They started with several hundred million dollars, blew it all in two years trying to find product-market fit, and went bankrupt.

So why would an entrepreneur want to start spending money developing a product before having a product-market fit? No matter how good you think, the idea is, you may be the only one in any zip code that thinks so.

So, how do you get a product-market fit? Don’t you need a product to show potential customers to see if it solves their problem and the problem is serious enough that they would spend money to buy it?

No, you don’t. However, you must have a product or service idea that solves a high priority problem, and a solution that makes sense to the buyer, and at a price, the buyer is willing to pay.

OK. What do you do? You start doing your homework. Mostly, your homework is a time requirement, not a cost problem. Be frugal and resourceful. Frugal people are generally more resourceful and, therefore, more creative than people with lots of money to spend.

Start by defining the problem, What is the problem you are trying to solve? That is not easy to answer because there isn’t a large market with a common problem. Geographic and demographic markets are filled with people who will interpret the issue in many different ways. Seth Godin, author, and entrepreneur, wrote in his book “Tribes” about how markets consist of people with a certain mindset in any zip code. Which mindset in which zip codes are you going to select?

Then, what is the solution? The solution is your story (which is also your strategy)  about the problem, solution, results, and why prospects should buy from you. If you define, create, and prepare a story to explain what you offer — your value proposition, you are ready to begin talking to prospects and getting their feedback before you spend development money.

You could prepare to present your story in many different ways. For example, you could do it with a slideshow, a white piece of typing paper with hand-drawn illustrations showing key elements ( I have done that, and it works perfectly) of your story. You could produce an animated whiteboard video that would allow you to show a five-minute presentation in less than two minutes. You could use an easel with paper and make key points as you tell your story. As I said before, be resourceful. A good story packed with facts and emotion plus a visual will enable you to tell a compelling story.

No matter how technical or complicated your product is, select a story format that allows you to tell the story without jargon, and without technical terms, the audience will not understand. An excellent simple story and some illustrations will enable you to tell a compelling story,

These simple presentations will get you the information you need to find out if your value proposition could be a winner. Also, the questions you ask, and they ask you will offer insights into how you can keep revising your product until they say, “you can do that?”

Once you get to a point where you think you have a product-market fit for this specific product design and this specific audience, you will have the confidence to begin the development process.

Also, see our blog,” Five Quick, Effective Ways To Tell Your Business Story.“

Jim Zitek/ Harbor Capital Group 

We empower entrepreneurs with information, insights, and the conviction they need to find, develop, and embed their stories throughout the development process to build successful companies.

 

Five Quick, Effective Ways To Tell Your Business Story?

Posted on by harborcapitalgroupinc

Some people find it hard to come up with an excellent way to get their story started. In the business world, you usually you would frame your story using the three steps of problem, solution, and results or outcomes.

Here is another quick way to get you started. Nick Morgan author, and coach tells people to use the story formats of famous and well-known stories as your framework, adapt the story to your business. Then explain your story within that framework,

You need to tell a story if you want to get someone’s attention and hold their attention until you get to your Call To Action (or as Jerry Weissman would say, to get them from point A to Point B).

You can do that with stories because stories work the way your mind works, Memory depends on attaching emotion to facts, Too many people try to use lists (3 of these, 6 of those) which do get people’s attention. Still, people have a difficult time remembering those lists. Stories do a much better job.

But if you are having a hard time creating a story, use one of the traditional story frames that have proved themselves over the years, Here are five frames you can use.

Quest is the most fundamental frame. In this scenario, the hero goes off to achieve a positive goal, but runs into a problem(s), generally finds a mentor, and then throughout the story reaches the goal.

The Stranger in a Strange Land is a much different story, The hero finds himself in a strange place where he is unsure of what to do (e.g., maybe a research task without any defined criteria), what the rules are, or even the path forward. But he runs into a mentor and finds a solution to something he didn’t know he was looking for in the beginning.

Rags To Riches is the classic story of stating out with nothing, and through hard work and some luck, you end up with fame and fortune.

Revenge is simply about a wrong done to the hero who, through no fault of his own, loses everything/. Then he prepares a plan and sets out to get revenge for the wrong done to him.

Love stories are about both love found and love lost. For example, a new great partnership  or a partnership that is being dissolved,

The main point here is that you can use the frame of a classic, well-known story to help you create your own story without having to create a new structure. Also, these are frames that people know and understand from the beginning, which makes your job and their ability to follow your story more manageable.

Do you have a situation in which one of these frames would make sense as a starting point to create your unique business story?

You might also like 15 Benefits Of Storytelling In Businesses

Would you like more tips on how to build a successful startup,  check out our free, weekly blog

or sign up for our startup success program HERE

 Jim Zitek, Harbor Capital Group

The strategy, development, and marketing
of successful startups begin with their story

How do you create a core story?

Posted on by harborcapitalgroupinc

 Your story cannot wait until you are ready to do marketing. It must be woven into your strategy from the very beginning.

Start by framing your story. Does it reflect the vision and values you are promoting?  You have to assume your competition has a story that you need to change. This analysis of the competition’s story takes time but is necessary. Then reframe the opponent’s story and reinforce your story to make sure you are not just restating your competitor’s story.

Keep it short and straightforward. Make sure it’s memorable and, therefore, easy to spread. Also, think about how you can encapsulate your message in a symbol, slogan, or metaphor that captures the essence of your story?

Make sure your story is emotional– includes values and deliver some emotional impact. One way is to articulate the  “hows” as verbs, not nouns.

You can start creating your story by going through the following suggestions. These are from Wodenworks, a brand strategy company. Start building your story by:

 

  • Identify the critical components of the company’s journey from initial problem to solution to results and transformation,

  • Define the “Whys” behind the story ( Why are we doing this? Why should I join the company? Why should I invest in this company? Why should you buy from this company? The answer to why is the company story.

  • Organize, arrange, and put the essence of your story in writing and share it with everyone and every department in your organization.

 

This process takes time, but the time required will more than pay you back for the time it took to complete this task, Once met it will give you direction, get everyone on the same page and help make decision making easier.

Here s another way to go through this process. Jim Logan, a long-time ma\rketer, offers this kind of approach to get at your core story.   y

 

  • Profile your best customers. That customer group can breakdown into smaller sales funnels.

  •  Identify the things you do for customers.

  • list all the things that are meaningfully different about your offer compared to other offerings with similar benefits (including every facet of your product and business operation from manufacturing to experience to responsiveness to the comprehensiveness of your solution to service and support),

  • list key features and functionality of things you sell ( and tie a benefit to each element and function)

  • Answer the Why question: should I believe you and why should I buy from you.

  •  Create your story from the material you have gathered

  • Test your story to make sure it does what you expect it to do. If not, revise it.

Next, let’s cover some of the story structures that will help you tell your story.

Story Structures

Several traditional story structures have been proven to work. Sometimes they have different names, but the structure is the same. At this point, we are using the core story we constructed to put that core story into a bigger picture.

You can use one of the traditional story frames that have proved themselves over the years, Here are the five frames you can use.

Quest is the most fundamental frame. In this scenario, the hero goes off to achieve a positive goal, but runs into a problem(s), generally finds a mentor, and then throughout the story reaches the goal.

The Stranger in a Strange Land is a much different story, The hero finds himself in a strange place where he is unsure of what to do (e.g., maybe a research task without any defined criteria), what the rules are, or even the path forward. But he runs into a mentor and finds a solution to something he didn’t know he was looking for in the beginning.

Rags To Riches is the classic story of stating out with nothing, and through hard work and some luck, you end up with fame and fortune.

Revenge is simply about a wrong done to the hero who, through no fault of his own, loses everything/. Then he prepares a plan and sets out to get revenge for the wrong done to him.

Love stories can be about both love found or love lost. For example, a new great partnership or a partnership being dissolved,

The main point here is that you can use one of these traditional story frames to help you create your own story without having to create a new frame of your own. Also, these are familiar frames that people know and understand, which makes your job and their ability to follow your story easier.

You now have a testable hypothesis. Does the story support the business model?

What Information To Put Into Your Story To Make It Successful?  

Posted on by harborcapitalgroupinc

What Information You Need To Put Into Your Story To Make It Successful?  

 

Every story starts with a problem. Don’t put more than the problem, solution, and success or result in your story.

OK, but what information do you need to put into your story to get the outcome you want. The story must, at a fundamental level, explain why you exist? Why does the market need your company? Why are we need this?  And why is what we are doing important?

What do you want to tell people? This information is the crux of your story and the real reason why people will buy from you or invest in your company.

Start by framing the issue. Don’t let our competition frame the issue. You may have to reframe the issue, so you are attacking the right problem. Does your core story articulate and reinforce the vision and values you are promoting to identify and solve the problem?

Different people have different ideas about what should go into your story. Here is one version. Your vision should be distilled into a single sentence, broken down into three parts:

1 What is the best action word describing what the brand is doing to serve the customer (empowering, teaching coaching,etc.)? Remember, you are not the hero of the story. You are the mentor showing the customer how to solve the problem.

2 Who do you want to hear your story? Be specific. The better you can target your audience, the more effective you will be. But, the audience has to be big enough for you to make a profit. Also, if your vision is clear, you will attract the audience you are seeking.

3 What is the outcome or transformation the customer will receive by using your product or service?  What are the benefits short-term and long-term, what are the consequences if the customer does not use your product or service?

Here is another way to look at what you should include in your story. Define the problem you want to address. It might be one huge problem or several problems you need to address separately.

1 Focus on addressing the problem and the challenges the problem causes the customer

2 The results or outcomes of solving that problem and the benefits the customer will receive.

3 Explain the difficulties the customer will have to go through to solve the problem in a way that brings the emotional aspects of getting to the solution. Is it relatable, believable, stressful yet transformational once accomplished?

One last thing. The end of the story is not the end; it’s the beginning of your relationship with the reader.

 

Why A Core Story Is Critical To Your Success

Posted on by harborcapitalgroupinc

Why A Core Story Is Critical To Your Success

When you look at startups that have developed into very successful companies, you find that one of the things that make them so successful is that they have a core story, which is also their strategy. These core stories sound deceptively simple but are extremely powerful. You should be able to tell your company’s story in one sentence or even a tweet.

Here are a couple of examples:

Google’s core story is Google: provides access to the world’s information in one click.

Apple’s core story is: Apple empowers individuals with well designed, easy-to-use computers.

Your target audience will be able to “get it” immediately if they don’t get it; they are probably not in your target audience. Once prospects understand who you are, what you do, and the benefits of what you do, expanding on your story is easy. You can direct the conversation in many different directions, depending on who’s in the audience.

Now, you need to implement this core story/strategy into everything you do, from product design to hiring people, to operations, marketing, and after-sales service.

If you live your story, you will have the ability to grow and add to your product line over time. It will be easier because you will have loyal customers who trust you. Think about how Apple and others have expanded over the years with the same core story/strategy and maintain a loyal customer base.

Now, for the hard part. Defining and creating your core story/strategy is challenging to do and takes time, But, take the time. It might be the difference between success and failure.

Now, let’s look at defining the core story/strategy in a little more detail. There is additional material on the different aspects of creating and telling your story that you will want to read as well.

What is a core story/strategy

Simply stated, a core story is a powerful narrative about your company, which explains what you do (problem, solution, benefit, or results) plus why you do what you do.  In other words, your core story is your strategy, and it drives success.

A core story also creates an emotional impact, will hold the reader’s attention over time and is flexible enough to be able to explain your company in different ways to different audiences.

This core story is not a  story about you, its the company’s story about your customers. Carmine Gallo, the author of “Talk like TED,” states that a company story is the company strategy, and the CEO is the keeper of the story. You are creating a clear and compelling vision and story around the “why,”  which is a fundamental task of leadership.

Answering the why question is how you build trust and eventually loyalty,  Business books are full of advice on how to achieve specific objectives and goals, but they are light on the Why questions. Carmine Gallo, the author of TED Talks, says to ask the following questions, Why are we doing this? Why should I join the company? Why should I invest in this company? Why should you buy this product or service from this company? The answer to why is the company story.

A core story also motivates employees, defines company culture, and provides a vision to attract investors and even define future product development. However, your story must be authentic or the results could turn customers away.

According to Christan Riedal at Mind Caffeine, a core story is the basic narrative that structures why we believe something is meaningful. It is the story you live by. The core story of a company can be an experience, a specific moment in time, or a belief that shows the real purpose of the enterprise: why you are doing what you do.

It is also a story that is designed to create relationships and gently persuade an audience into suspending their cynicism to buy into an emotional point of view. We make decisions with emotions.

 If you take the time to refine your story, you refine your thinking and the company strategy, Companies that don’t have a clear, articulated core story don’t have a clear and well-thought-out strategy.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the story is just about marketing. It’s bigger than just marketing. The story is your strategy. If you make the story better, you make your strategy better.