ProductCamp SoCal is a free, user-driven, collaborative unconference for product managers, marketers and designers in Southern California. It is a one-day gathering of product professionals to share, present, network, learn, explore and discuss the latest trends and industry best practices. At ProductCamp So Cal you will: Discover best practices from many industries on state-of-the-art ways … Read more
“As far back as 1966 the phrase “word of mouth advertising” was coined in a Harvard Business Review article by Ernest Dichter, the father of motivational research (and the “focus group”). He exhorted the ad community to move from acting as ‘a salesman who tries to get rid of merchandise,’ to the new role of ‘a friend … Read more
Danny Peters is Customer Experience consultant at Conexperience, specializing in Customer Journey Mapping and Customer Experience Management. He posted 6 Steps to Build a Customer Journey on LinkedIn Pulse. He breaks down CJM in six steps: Step 1 – Episodes: Episodes are groups of touchpoints in the customers’ journey. An episode is like a chapter … Read more
Large organizations with multiple business units need a way to determine where to invest across all the units. The GE–McKinsey Nine-Box Matrix is a method for deciding how to share capital across multiple units by assessing each unit’s market position and profitability. This model looks at two factors: Market attractiveness and Business strength: Market Attractiveness is … Read more
For the last four years, Actuation Consulting, has been conducting market research on what makes product teams successful. I had the privilege of helping with the most recent study and they found that: Companies with less than $50 M in annualized revenues have between one to nine core team members. (42% of organizations have between … Read more
The BCG growth–share matrix is a chart that was created by Bruce D. Henderson for the Boston Consulting Group in 1970 to help businesses decide which markets and business units to invest in. The matrix looks at two basic factors: Relative Market Share that represent cash generation Relative Growth Rate that represents cash usage The … Read more
MaryLeigh Bliss did this great post, 3 Marketing Lessons Brands Could Learn From Taylor Swift (Seriously), a little while back that I thought was, not only the right way to reach Gen Y, but is just good common sense. In general, this is what she shared: Get Personal In April, Taylor Swift surprised a super-fan … Read more
“We know that consumer purchase decisions are often made quickly and subconsciously, but there are opportunities where it’s possible to influence a consumer’s perception of a brand. People often make buying decisions by using all five of their senses and once product designers discover what each of these sensory influencers are, they can develop packaging … Read more
I am a firm believer in the Human-Centered Design Process. So, why are there so many bad designs? Here’s why: There was never a Designer involved The Designer was brought in on the project too late There wasn’t a person(s) to implement the design The implementer(s) of the design do not have the right skills … Read more
“And one more thing…” is a phrase Steve Jobs famously used in making announcements of products towards the end of his presentations. Steve Jobs also said “We’re gambling on our vision, and we would rather do that than make ‘me too’ products. Let some other companies do that. For us, it’s always the next dream.” … Read more