Immersion: Be Human!

  

 

 

Why is it that some organisations succeed at innovation when others only dream of it? According to Gallup, the success rate of new product development effort is around 20% meaning that more than 80% of research budget is lost. The other way to look at this is to say that 80% of new products fail to achieve market success. This is a staggering percentage yet the research budget of corporations have consistently been on the ascendancy. In 1924, P&G became the first company to conduct deliberate, data-based market research with consumers. The enigmatic CEO of Yahoo; Marissa Mayer (formerly a Google employee) recently cancelled the flexible work policy at the struggling tech giant after it became apparent that productivity was beginning to stall. According to her, it was a case in which there was no longer a moral not business case for the policy to continue. Talk of wanton abuse. What separates the leaders from the followers in our post modern world plagued by the reality of information overload is the uncanning ability to see pattern from a mountain of data. The best companies in the world who lead in their categories make decisions guided by insight.

 

 

A new productivity era
We are not in the information age. Yes! We have more information today than we have ever had. The amount of information we have today if stored in floppy disks will go past the moon if stacked in rows. In spite of this constipation, what we are experiencing is mere revolution. We are in the robotic age. According to General Electric (GE) in a white paper that was published in 2012, humanity is in the precipice of a new productivity era referred to as Industrial Internet. This thinking fits into the global paradigm referred to as the internet of things. Buzz words like "Big Data" sound very edgy but in truth only herald what is to come. Simplicity has never been important until now. In the final analysis, it is our hope that we can overcome the myriads of challenges that currently deal with as a people. After all, hunger remains the number one challenge.



Keep it human
Intelligent marketers have pronounced B2B and its other morphological variations dead. Gyro, a global idea shop with more than 30 years of distinguished contribution as a B2B agency have alluded to this. Above the line, below the line, through the line, whatever it is you call it, if you can't keep it human, you belong to the valley of dinosaurs. Brand is a four letter word (love). If you cannot engage and connect with your prosumers at the emotional level, you don't stand a chance to be culturally relevant. Ours is a post modern world where you can't easily distinguish between producers and consumers anymore. Our glocal market have prosumers not only competing but co-operating. Absolutism is a fad. The future belongs to those who are willing to be human.



Archaeology is the new sexy
Professionals in the field of social psychology are becoming increasingly relevant. They possess deep and rare insights about the nature of humans and the rationale for their amorphous behaviour. Marketing is no longer a management function of creating awareness about the existence of a product. Strategic marketing seeks to create products that people want and making them want these things. Manufacturers are fast learning to leverage design thinking as a strategic capability. Recently, designers at a global car manufacturer as part of designing a new car for women dressed the engineering and design team in women attires. This decision was part of a deliberate attempt to understand the customer/user in a new level. There are no promises but this pays off whichever way you look at it. Immersion is the master stroke.



Let them choose the broom
When next you come face to face with making a decision that involves the customer, seek to gain the confidence that comes from knowing what will delight them. This goes beyond conducting a primary research or executing an experiential marketing campaign. Whatever model of communication you wish to adopt, endeavour to tell a story. Until you immerse yourself in the shoes of the customer, you have not earned the right to tell their story. If you really want a clean house, you will empower them to choose the broom.



Image Credit: Google