As the curator of the INSIDER Guide to New Product Development (NPD), I’m constantly keeping an eye out for bite-size information that will help you develop and scale better subscription products. Here’s my “Five on Friday” list for July 17th, featuring the five best trends, tips, quotes or stats from my reading this week.
1. The $64,000 Question: Motive, Not Source
According to Matt Heinz of Heinz Marketing Inc, in “Source vs motive,” it’s not, “How did you hear about us?” Customers won’t recall their entire decision path, leaving you with an overly-simplistic answer. You’ll get a better read on this question through your CRM data than customer Q&A. Better?
“Instead of asking ‘How did you hear about us?’ ask ‘Why did you choose us?'”
This is something click-throughs and downloads won’t tell you. Once you know the answer, you can make sure your marketing is highlighting the right benefits and brand elements to drive more subscriptions.
2. Small Business = Big Social Media Marketing
Worth a scan is the Social Media Examiner’s “2015 Social Media Marketing Industry Report.” There is the usual unsurprising news that social media marketing continues to grow in popularity, but I was surprised (and pleased) to see how engaged smaller businesses are in online media. The chart below shows businesses with 10 or fewer employees exceeding larger firms’ in hours spent on social media. My prediction: next year these small business will be bigger.
3. Woman-Owned? Try for a Grant
Entrepreneur.com’s “11 Grants for Women-Owned Businesses You Need to Know About” provided some good leads on grants. Raising startup – or second-round growth – cash can be challenging and risky; there’s nothing to lose in trying for some free money. Worth the seven minutes Entrepreneur says it will take you to read this one.
4. Protecting Your Trademark
Copyright strategy is foundational to subscription businesses, but it’s wise to remember trademark, too. Worth a read on the topic is, “3 Things to do After You Register a Trademark” . In the first half of 2015, more than 237,940 trademark applications were filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The USPTO has already seen a 9.6% increase in applications this year. Many of the applicants are entrepreneurs and small-business owners seeking to protect their intellectual property rights. As subscription businesses, one of our most critical branding elements is our product name. Protect yours.
5. Be Like Netflix
I have to admit, I never thought Netflix would make it back from its 2011 pricing debacle, but I was wrong – really wrong. According to eMarketer’s “Convenience, Cost and Content Power Netflix Uptake” 46.4% of internet users in North America used Netflix.
One lesson here: he who markets the ubiquitous product benefit (on-demand streaming in this case) best, owns consumer perception. In short, everyone who competes in this space has on-demand streaming video, but Netflix owns the perception of value. However, while some of Netflix’s appeal can (and may be) overtaken by other offerings, should competitors decide to modify their go-to-market strategy; their original programming is gaining traction as an attraction, and that’s a bulwark stronger than a House of Cards.
Have a great weekend,
Diane
Diane Pierson, our INSIDER Guide to New Product Development, is a leader in product management and marketing, having delivered results to companies including Dun & Bradstreet, LexisNexis, American Lawyer Media and Copyright Clearance Center. She has built products & services that have delivered over $100 million in revenue and knows what works, and what doesn’t, when executing product plans and strategies. (Read Diane’s full Bio)
