Why you should ditch customer surveys and what to do instead to get product feedback
I am not a big fan of surveys, for the following reasons: Customers don't want to say what they really feel because it may reveal their deep biases that they are reluctant to share with anyone; They don't want to be seen as wrong; They don't want to be seen as ill-informed; Customers don't want to hurt [...]
Showing customers they have a problem vs. they seeing and experiencing their problem on their own
I was talking to a company recently about their product, a really nifty little item that I like and am actually using myself. As usual, when I first talk to companies about their products, I immediately begin to think over how to best market and sell their products. I am somewhat obsessed with figuring that [...]
Survive and thrive with captive customers
There is an active military presence in the metro-Denver area of Colorado, which includes relatively frequent fly-overs by F15's and F16's. Most of the time, they are not moving that fast and you hear the sound before they pass overhead. Sometimes, they are moving really fast, and once-in-a-while, they are flying very low and moving awfully fast. When [...]
What questions should I ask customers when testing the viability of a CPG or consumer product idea?
What questions should I ask customers when testing the viability of a CPG or consumer product idea? This is a Quora question. My answer is as follows: I find that asking people directly about a product idea does not yield the most informative answers. A better approach is to focus more on the outcome that [...]
Is it better to start with a low manufacture suggested retail price in CPG and increase them later on, or start high and lower them?
Is it better to start with a low manufacture suggested retail price in CPG and increase them later on, or start high and lower them? This was a question posted to Quora that I answered, which I have re-copied below: I know consumer products, so can only answer from that perspective: Do your research against [...]
Securing a name and filing for a federal wordmark for a CPG or consumer product startup
In this post, I will cover some thoughts and details about securing a name or filing for a federal wordmark for a CPG or consumer product startup with the USPTO. 1. Come up with multiple names to choose from. 2. Search the USPTO database for your chosen names and any variations. 3. Use the main [...]