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Do you product market fit?
Do you
product market fit?
We all
heard about those amazing start-ups, starting from scratch with an incredible
hyper growth! As an example, we can name Airbnb, Uber, pinterest for USA,
Alibaba for China and let’s say Blablacar in France!
What do they
all have in common?
If you read
most of interviews or books from the founders, they refer to a D day in their
history. This D day is when their product or service product market fit!!!
They all
mention the days before, this early stage, when everything had to be built from
scratch with no cash (or a really limited) in bootstraps mode… And like the
messiah, the day after arrived! This day is when their products/services meet
its market. This alchemy produces a curve of hyper growth, synonymous of
traction, conversion, cash, investors but also more troubles… J
But what
does it mean product market fit exactly?
Well well
well! Beyond the legends, let’s focused on facts and ask yourself what do you
need to product market fit?
- - First
you need a market
- - Then
you need a product/service meeting customers’ expectation or needs
- - Finally,
you need your customers to understand your products and use it.
Let’s take
some example:
- First
scenario: You are a company specialized in the production and distribution of
water melon seeds and you are located in the middle of the Sahara. Do you have
a market? Obviously not! Because the culture of water melon needs a huge amount
of water, which the Sahara does not have.
- 2ND
scenario: Now you are still a water melon seeds seller located in the Desert
but you found out a process to produce water melon and others fruits or legumes
but with really few water. However, you need lots of sun and heat. Do you
product market fit? Obviously Yes!
But will
you sell millions of those miracle seeds and become in less than 1 year the new
Jeff Bezos? I don’t think so, simply because nobody will believe you. Today it
is unbelievable to produce water-melon in the middle of Sahara.
Why?
-
Because
as that never be done before they can’t project themselves.
-
Because
they don’t know how to use it?
-
Can
they afford it? Do they have the cash?
-
Do
they have the structures, skills or what’s so ever to use?
How many excellent
products in the world fail per year because the founders are not able to
explain how easy to use the product/service is! Or simply how good is it for
them? To grow you need to convert customers on large scale and make them adopt
your solution...
So how to
convince them? Same way, in all those success stories there was the same
pattern…
Here is a
first way:
First
of all, forget the strategy “it is the best product in world”. Be focused
instead on what your client really wants and not on your (hypothetical) brand
awareness and your outstanding technical specifications. In another way, you
need first to prove your says before sell it. It is easier to do so when you
understand customers frustrations and bring to them a solution which really
matter.
-
If
your customer does not buy, try to identify your customer ‘s concerns and fears.
Too expansive? Value proposition not clear enough? Difficult to use? Identify
the risks and then find a solution for each.
-
Understand
his codes and his core values. Build a persona who will speak his own language
to help your customers to project himself with your product or service.
Here is a
second way:
-
First,
find the early adopters. What is an early adopter? I like to qualify them in
that way… they are obviously customers and their only purpose is to test new
products or services until they find the right one able to satisfy all their expectations…
Try to convert as much as early adopters as possible and turn them into
hardcore fans! Statistically, they represent less than 1%...
-
The
second step consists to find gurus or the evangelists… We can also name them influencers,
brands ambassadors…. Their purposes? Bring your products/services out of the
void where it is stuck for now and turn it into a trend…
At that stage, you may ask yourself
what is a trend and how to evaluate it?
Difficult question, so difficult response.
But I like the following one…
It is said in the secret services
when a phenomenon reaches 5% of the population targeted it’s just a matter of
time before it becomes a main stream…
What does that mean main stream?
30%? 50%? 80%? That is another subject.
So to
conclude, until the early 2000, the key to unlock the market was based on a mix
between the size of your marketing/communication budget, innovative tech and
the key advantage of success you had over your competitors. Nowadays the
barriers to get into a market are more focused on producing the right product for
the right customer with the right message.
Sebastien
Vanhoecke
How to crack down a market in 11 steps …
How to crack a
market in 11 steps …
This post
is based on my lattest achievement (24/03/19) where I had to launch from scratch several brands on the European
Southern market.
Let me
explain you the context:
In 2015, The turnover for southern Europe was less than 50Keuros
Cumulated turnover in 03/2019: 900Keuros
I oversaw a
portfolio of 5 Brands: Bradley Smoker, Kamado Joe, Ozpig, Mega Master… With the lines below I will try to
enlighten you on how we enable the brand Bradley Smoker, unknown 3 years ago,
to reach the third place in term of brand awareness into the French market. All
of this was made in bootstrap mode and from scratch!
FYI, my statement on the ranking is based on
google planner.
To do so, I
had to develop the following skills:
1-
Realize Market Survey:
To
understand my market: The different profiles of final customers, the ideal
profile of retailers to target, competitors and their strategies (online &
offline), customer segments…
To do so, I
used the following tools:
-
Google
planners
-
Google
analytics
-
Google
trends
-
Yodaa
insights
-
Facebook
-
tubebuddy
-
SWOT
analysis
-
Stores
and online check
-
…
Then, establish
the first strategy which was: collect more data to have a better
understanding of our customers…
2-
Creation of Bradley website via
WordPress: To develop a good visibility
online.
I personally did work a
lot on SEO but not on SEA. The SEA was outsourced, I just had to provide a
short list of the most relevant key words.
Here below the website Bradley
3-
Management of social medias and
content creation: Create a community of evangelist
To organize and schedule my
publications, I used buffer in order to save time. Here below some of our
pages:
The idea of those pages was to communicate on
the core values of the brand and how to use or make the most of the products
whatever the situation or context.
4-
Production of videos on youtube:
For a better market penetration,
identify new customers, but also to optimize our SEO.
5-
Creation of a network of bloggers
and influencers:
Here few below.
- Chef Simon: http://chefsimon.com/gourmets/chef-simon/recettes/magret-de-canard-fume-a-chaud?fbclid=IwAR11SRO_6-H4P5VaYHScrLbpLNALmWVnl
- Chef Simon: http://chefsimon.com/gourmets/chef-simon/recettes/magret-de-canard-fume-a-chaud?fbclid=IwAR11SRO_6-H4P5VaYHScrLbpLNALmWVnl
-
Chef Clément: https://www.chefclement.com/?fbclid=IwAR3K9T45shJH0EdV6gFfPzZXzMEiGSOOMGyF2LcXJhd336o3no0LlsjQCMg
-
Le blog de Raffa
-
…
Only one
recommendation to the bloggers/ambassadors, mention at least once the name of
the brand and ideally the website.
6-
A book has been published by a
famous French chef.
The chef Simon used 2 of
our brands to realise this book full of delicious recipes: Kamado Joe and
Bradley Smoker.
The idea was to create traction
on the brands and websites to identify who are the final customer and where is
he located?
7-
Create and organize B2B email campaigns:
To recruit the right dealers.
Around a hundred Email campaigns
were executed. A publication with a link below will explain you how I did
collect email addresses, on which purpose and how I organize in an efficient
way the different email campaigns.
Based on that strategy, at the end
of the exercise: 17% of my “B2B prospects” were following weekly all my
publications. They are now considered as hot leads.
8-
Catalogue creation (photoshop),
Marketing sheet and technical sheet (with Canva):
An example here enclosed.
9-
Data analysis:
Beyond the social media
analysis/insight, I was using google analytics to have a better understanding
of my customers in order to create the right content to the right customer or
hunting the right brand ambassadors. But that was also of great help to
understand customers road map (physical or virtual) in order to bring them smoothly
to the best product able to meet their expectations.
To do so, I pass a google certification:
This approach also enables me to create “persona” respecting the “code” and the values of customers
targeted. The hidden idea is to inspire
them, to help final customer to project himself playing with it and make the
product more “friendly”.
An example of persona (Herve Chasseur) built from the ground
to conquer the following segments clearly identified:
-
Hunters
-
River fishermen
-
Traditional homemade charcuterie lovers
Here below few of his most
successful videos to illustrate the process.
Recipe of truit smoked in the old fashion way – Segment targeted river fishermen
and their wives: https://youtu.be/ARE5TeP88h0
Recipe of ham smoked in the traditional way – Segment Targeted Charcuterie lovers:
10-
Plan events:
Based on the road mapping logic, explained
above, we also had to be present on trade shows, fairs or public demo in
stores, in order to be in contact with our final customers or retailers.
Here below a list non exhaustive of the events
I had to attempt based on customers clearly identified:
-
JDC
in Marseille
-
Belgium
Game Fair
-
Salon de la chasse de la motte Beuvron
-
Ouverture de la chasse St Hubert
-
French smokers days
-
Lille salon culinaire
-
Nuremberg game fair
-
….
11-
Develop the network of retailers
To create and develop
our network and push retailers to join us, we have to convince them on the
following points:
-
Quality
of the products: Endorsements from famous chefs, interviews and good customers
feedbacks.
-
The
versatility of the products: videos of demonstrations.
-
Size
of our market: Google planners, our followers or viewers on social media, the
estimated one from our network of bloggers/ambassadors, the units sold N-1/N-2…
-
Come
with a readymade sales strategy/marketing plan and argument of sales for final customers
or segments targeted…
-
(optional)
Explain your products VS competitors and how they are a better match
Here below a link with
our dealers’ location for
the brand Bradley smoker:
ect…
To sum-up everything, you need to proceed in the
following way:
- - Gather data to understand the market: Its organization, opportunities
and Threats.
- - Use the local players (brand ambassadors, bloggers…) who understand the core values and
speak with the code of customers targeted, in order to make the brand/products more familiar. Then scale, duplicate, automatize the spreading of the message via
social media.
-
- Once you understand how and why the final
customer buy the products, it is time to find
the right dealers sharing the customers values and codes. When you identify the best way to recruit
retailers… Scale it, duplicate it, automatize the spreading of the message via social
media or B2B email campaigns (chimp mail).
Well you know now almost
all my secrets. I hope those few pages will be useful and explained
well enough to help you to conquer new markets.
All the best,
Sebastien Vanhoecke
Growth Hacking ou comment faire décoller son business en 18 mois!
Growth Hacking ou comment faire décoller son business en 18 mois!
Ces étapes impliquent de comprendre au préalable les attentes et les besoins de vos clients. De comprendre son marché, les différents playeurs présents et leurs strategies (ETAPE TRES IMPORTANTE!!!!).
Si votre produit/service ne rencontre pas son marché, je vous conseille d'utiliser la stratégie de l’océan bleu.
Dans un marché de niche hyper concurrentiel, il s'agit de créer son propre marché. Pour se faire, cela demande de ne plus rester autocentré sur ses besoins et attentes mais faire preuve d'empathie et comprendre pourquoi le prospect refuse d'acheter votre produit/service. Mettez vous à sa place et écoutez ce qu'il a à dire: ce qui le bloque, l’énerve, le gêne et matchez-y ou apportez-y une solution.
Une fois ce „point de details“ reglé, il est temps de faire décoller votre business et pour se faire voici les étapes:
- Créer son site web (wordpress): Pour devenir visible.
- Optimiser le référencement (SEO parfait pour démarrer): Pour être plus visible (+Blog si possible)
- Identifier une communauté active susceptible d’être intéressée ou passionnée par votre produit/service et mettre à disposition une unité de démo gratuitement (Ex blog ou page Facebook ou twitter ou Pint’…)
- Multiplier cette étape autant que possible afin de révéler le mieux possible la taille de votre marché et en apprendre autant que possible sur leurs besoins, demandes, leurs frustrations et comportements d’achat afin d’améliorer le produit et de mieux le comprendre via le prisme du consommateur.
- Chercher un influenceur, un gourou, un maître Yoda et le convertir à votre cause. Ce dernier vous apportera crédibilité, notoriété et vous fera sortir du néant qu’est l’anonymat. Ne jamais oublier: « La meilleure recommandation est celle d’un client satisfait. »
- Prendre le temps d'intégrer les feedbacks pour améliorer votre produit/service et afin de mieux le vendre et de rendre plus de clients heureux.
- Identifier les enseignes, points de ventes virtuels ou physiques dans lesquels vos clients pourront acheter vos produits.
- Comprendre les procédures d’achats de l’enseigne.
- Lister les différents profils des intervenants (users, decison makers, co-decision makers, influenceurs…): Enseigne, profils de poste, nom + prenom...
- Sur base des feedbacks de vos utilisateurs créer des newsletters (via mailjet ou chimpmail ou autres) susceptibles de convaincre, rassurer, donner du sens, rendre compréhensible la valeur du produit ou service pour les différents acteurs intervenant dans le processus d'achat. Important: Les Newsletters doivent apporter de l’information pertinente pour la cible: Data marché, vidéo de démonstration, user expérience, estimation marché…
- Webscrapper les e mails des différents interlocuteurs (Mail hunter ou linklead.io…): Trouver les e mails de chefs de produits, acheteurs, Head of…
- Envoyer vos campagnes de Newsletters (environ 7 minimum) et contrôler leur impact: Taux de réception Inbox, ouverture, click… Créer des messages, clairs, précis et percutant mais éviter les superlatifs et les 70%OFF !!!... Trop année 90/2000.
- Identifier les acteurs les plus sensibles aux arguments présentés par cold mailling: C'est votre 1ere cible.
- Préparer votre pitch + arguments de vente + support Marketing (catalogue digital) adaptés à votre cible BtoB.
- Appeler les enseignes et prenez vos RDV. Cette approche vous permettra de:
- Passer les barrages plus facilement
- Passer moins de temps à expliquer qui vous êtes et ce que vous faites ou pourquoi votre produit/service est le meilleur ou répondra à la demande client.
- Qualifier les leads les plus sérieux
- Passer moins de temps à négocier et plus à vendre car vous faites du sur mesure ( vous écoutez, vous comprenez votre client et vous lui expliquez les bénéfices de ce qu'il va acheter - CF Livre rouge de la vente). N'oubliez pas que vous apportez (aux acheteurs BtoB) un marché déjà existant, une demande réelle.Il ne vous restera plus qu’à vendre le produit/service au client final (D2C) ou lui indiquer où l'acheter (BtoC)
- Si vous connaisez les salons préférés de vos acheteurs, allez y et invitez les! C'est pas mal pour se rencontrer pour la 1ere fois.
Vous avez désormais une idée précise de la demande de vos clients et de leurs attentes/besoins mais aussi une excellente compréhension de leurs processus d'achat. Les 2 points clefs pour vendre.
Il s'agit d'une approche dite de soft sales que j'ai lancé sur un marche de niche hyper concurrentiel sans investir des millions en marketing et communication.
Enjoy!
Ou alors ne me croyez pas, soyez sceptique et testez! (encore mieux)
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