“It’s not an accident that some products catch on and some don’t. When an ideavirus occurs, it’s often because all the viral pieces work together. How smooth and easy is it to spread your idea? How often will people sneeze it to their friends? How tightly knit is the group you’re targeting— do they talk much? Do they believe each other? How reputable are the people most likely to promote your idea? How persistent is it— is it a fad that has to spread fast before it dies, or will the idea have legs (and thus you can invest in spreading it over time)? Put all of your new product developments through this analysis, and you’ll discover which ones are most likely to catch on. Those are the products and ideas worth launching.”
“In other words, find the market niche first, and then make the remarkable product— not the other way around.”
“You’re probably guilty of being too shy, not too outrageous. Try being outrageous, just for the sake of being annoying. It’s good practice. Don’t do it too much because it doesn’t usually work. But it’s a good way to learn what it feels like to be at the edge.”
“Find things that are “just not done” in your industry, and do them. JetBlue almost instituted a dress code for passengers. They’re still playing with the idea of giving a free airline ticket to the best-dressed person on the plane. A plastic surgeon could offer gift certificates. A book publisher could put a book on sale. Stew Leonard’s took the strawberries out of the little green plastic cages and let the customers pick their own— and sales doubled.”
The leader is the leader because he did something remarkable. And that remarkable thing is now taken–it’s no longer remarkable when you do it
Instead of using your technology and expertise to make a better product for your users standard behavior, experiment with making your users change their behavior to make the product dramatically better
If a products feature is unlikely to be remarkable, if you can’t imgine a future where people are once again facinated by your product, it’s time to realize that the game has changed. Instead of investing in a dying product, take profits and invest them in someting new
The only chance you have is to sell to people who like change, who like new stuff, and who are actively looking for it
A product for everybody is a product for nobody
It’s not and accident that some products catch on and some dont. When an ideavirus occurs it’s because all the viral elements work together. How easy is it to spread your idea? how often will people tell their friends? How tightly knit is the group your targetting? How reputable are the people most likely to promote your idea? Is this a fad or will it have legs?
Differentiate your customers. Find the group that’s most profitable. The group that’s most likely to sneeze. How do you target them?
If you could pick one underserved niche to target, who would it be?
You’ll never catch up by being the same, find ways you can be different instead
If you measure it, it will improve.
How do you create a culture like Comic-con?
If there’s a limit, you should test it. What if you’re the fastest, nicest, etc.
