Tag Archives: idea

Value

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If you are entrepreneur or work for a company, the most important aspect of your efforts are showing the value of what is being delivered.

Earlier I was in a conversation with one of my mentors and during the course of our conversation he stressed upon two things we need to do as individuals – Present the story well and Quantify value in financial terms.

Presenting the Story
All of us have ideas. Quantifying ideas to demonstrate the value the idea brings to the end user is the most important aspect of getting the message across.

How do you present the story?
Any idea is related to real life, because it is solving an existing problem. Focus on finding the right situation which can depict what you are wanting to solve. Use this situation to create a story and then build your narrative.

When Tata tea was trying to win market share in different states; In the states of Orissa and Maharashtra, tea consumers preferred dust tea instead of the grains. But they needed the strong taste and flavor. So, they offered Tata Tea Premium dust tea in red color packaging. The color red denoted the strength and flavor of the tea. The red color is the story in this narration.

PS: I am using this case study only as an illustration, it is easier said than done ?

Understand the flavors of your idea and depict the story as close to reality as possible.

Providing Value
Value preposition is not just related to financial metrics. It relates to Quality, Maturity of the problem and the solution process – which is the Why? and they way it relates to the end user.

Remember the Jagore campaign which Tata did to bringing tea acceptance to the youth? The campaign had nothing to do with the tea, but what Tata was doing is making their brand penetrate. Today, whenever you say or hear the word Jagore, you immediately relate to Tata and the social consciousness it brings in you. This in tern will play on you when you go out to buy tea when you see various brands on the stands.

This is providing value. Value to yourself and your brand.

Toughest part of Idea Execution

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Few days ago, I met with a person who left his job in the US and came back to India to start up. His family continues to live in the US and he shuttles between the two countries every six months. His idea is unique and to both of our knowledge, he does not have any threatening competition as on date. The idea is good, it is self-funded and he is good with it for some time. Since his idea is a platform to bring stakeholders together and provide service, he is doing financially fine as of now.

As we spoke, I asked him what was the toughest part of bringing his idea to reality – convincing family, Money or signing up people? He smiled and said “Marketing”.

He is correct. Having an awesome idea is just not related to the functioning of the brain and connecting with people, but to market the idea to the appropriate stakeholders.

In a startup’s context, Marketing is just not about showcasing your idea to the world, but it is the art of showcasing the idea as it connects to your potential clients.

Marketing fundamentally needs an understanding of what your client is wanting, what is the value proposition of what you are offering and how the offering is positioned.

When Radio Mirchi (98.3 FM) was born way back in 2000, the biggest challenge for them was to make listeners tune into their frequency. No one was switching on the Radio at home or in the car. At this time, Radio Mirchi focused on playing English music which was considered hip and cool. During the time slots of 7 AM – 10 AM and evening between 5 PM – 8 PM, they played English music and slowly people started tuning in to follow the trend.

When an idea is conceptualized, we need to first create our offering in a way such that clients would come to us and then we can build on what our unique proposition is.

Is your idea ready for Market? 

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When ever you have an idea, the first question you get to hear Is if the Market Mature for this type of service?

It takes a lot of strength and energy for educating the consumer with the new idea. Many a times, the market might not be mature enough to accept a solution, but as Innovators, we need to push for market readiness.

Look at Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Lamborghini etc. Is India a mature model for them to setup their shop? Rolls Royce has been in India for a very long time now.

When Starbucks entered the Chinese market, it took them a decade to be accepted into the tea drinking nation.

What we need as entrepreneurs is persistence and success comes to those who can articulate their idea to novices. That is the deal breaker.

Ask

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Ask is the one important factor and the first step towards success.

  • What would have happened if Newton never asked himself “Why did the apple fall down?”
  • What would have happened if Henry Ford asked his potential customers “What do you want?”
  • What would have happened if Richard Branson never asked himself why should he get into airline business?
  • What would happen if no politician ever goes and asks for Votes?
This is not different in Entrepreneurship.

All that we need to do is Ask. Not everyone is interested in Equity for Investment. Few Investors come to you because of their passion. Few investors adore your idea, but might not be able to invest money, but they are ready to mentor you, write a business plan, make a connection etc. Few other investors might just want their name to be associated with your Idea. The list goes on.

When was the last time you asked anyone for Investment in your idea other than Money? 

Monetary investment surely helps’s, but there are other investments which are more precious and help you build your idea.

Next time, ask for Investment from family/friends and strangers other than Money and see how it changes everything.