Aloysius Chan's Blog

If you are not a brand, you are a commodity. Phillip Kolter. If you don’t know what you are aiming for, metrics will tell you nothing. “What is in for me?” Chameleon brand. Test assumptions & adapts. Lean, willing to innovate. Agile, moving around is natural. Camouflage to survive. Dinosaur brand. Know-it-all. Bloated, big fan or tradition. Slow reactions, too heavy to move. Scare off everyone else to survive. Brand recipe Story Name Positioning statement Promise Personas Product experience Personality Pricing Symbols Logo Color palette Typography Imagery Stationery: the business card Collateral: one-sheet Slide deck Strategy Social media marketing Landing page Search engine optimisation Paid advertising Email list Marketing video Public relations Content marketing: blogging Point of purchase optimisation Review systems Partnerships Pricing Cost-based pricing Value-based pricing Competition-based pricing Penetration pricing Skimming or “creaming” price strategy Freemium Premium pri...

5-step process of strategic development External business environment, market assessment, growth and opportunities. Understand and evaluate the external market environment. Conduct a detailed market assessment. Thoroughly evaluate core versus adjacent markets. Value change and strategic control points. Map out the relevant value chains. Assess strategic control points within the value chain. Understand customer needs and competency gaps and advantages through the value chain. Segment based on customer needs Strategically prioritise segments. Create value propositions. Align incentives Align across all internal and external constituents. Use the concept of “asset specificity”. Utilise concept of “virtual vertical integration” where possible. Set 5 points of tactics. Points of positioning on the unique value propositions. Points of value on offering and entry timing. Points of value on principles in extracting value. Points of access on customer access. Points of touch on the embodiment ...

Desirability x customer = Wants & needs Values & beliefs How do customers describe or identify themselves? What values do your customers want to express through their product choices? What beliefs need to change for your offering to succeed? How will you do this? Goals What are your customers’ super objectives? What hidden goals or subtext does your customer have? How do you know if your customer has achieved their goals successfully? What are their success criteria? Barriers What equipment does your customer already have that you must work with? Does this make a barrier? What ways of working might your offering impact? Can you reduce the effort required to get customers started with your product or service? What financial barriers stand in your target customer’s way? Can you find a way to dismantle them? Operational barriers Installation Compatibility Competing technologies Functional risk Distribution and network effect Experiential barrier Trialability Training and expertise...

Risk levels Safety and security Brand Product Personal brand Murphy’s law: anything could go wrong will go wrong. Assume nothing, double-check everything. Collectively, the chances of failure in different parts of the project should be added together and that is the final failure rate. Web of command Prime decision makers Collaborative decisions Delegated decisions Chains of command Inverted pyramid [Experiential] Service > product > [Non-experiential] management > leadership Public information go wrong: Acknowledge the problem Act authoritatively Speak truthfully Accept responsibility for the response Decay theory: memory fades due to the mere passage of time

Accentuate the positive. Scare tactic doesn’t work, if you want something to quit smoking find him an ex-smoker, give him hope instead. Easier path. Removing obstacles or changing the environment that will encourage people to adopt. Elevator pitch. Simple yet intriguing 30 seconds message. Emotional connection. Learn to listen with your heart. Evolving vision. It is sometimes okay to reduce your vision but make it achievable. Future commitment. People are less pressured when there is a longer timeline, plan your work to avoid last minute. Go-to person. Don’t listen to everyone but only choose the one that can actually solve problems. Imagine that. To visualise a possible outcome. Know yourself. Do not overestimate your own ability and talent. Low-hanging fruit. Occasionally look for quick and easy wins that have visible impact. Myth buster. Create a two-column list of correct and incorrect information. Pick your battles. Do you have the resources to complete and should you win? To...