Demand by Adrian Slywotzky

Author:Adrian Slywotzky [Slywotzky, Adrian J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-88734-4
Publisher: Crown
Published: 2011-10-03T16:00:00+00:00

5.

Trajectory

(truh-JEK-tuh-ree) noun 1. the rate at which the magnetic characteristics of a product are enhanced over time 2. rapid performance improvement (technical, emotional, affordable, content) as the key that unlocks new layers of demand

GETTING SMARTER FASTER: TEACH FOR

AMERICA’S DRIVE TO RESHAPE

EDUCATIONAL DEMAND

Novelist and social critic Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World, had a favorite motto: “Nothing short of everything is ever really enough.” We’ve seen this principle at work repeatedly in the world of demand. For the demand creator, building a magnetic product is essential, but it isn’t enough—you also need to understand the customer’s hassle map and figure out how to connect the dots in ways that reduce those hassles or eliminate them altogether. Making an emotional connection with the customer is crucial, but it isn’t enough—you also need to make certain that all the backstory elements are in place, so that you can be sure to avoid the Curse of the Incomplete Product. And even that isn’t enough—you also need to find the most powerful triggers and deploy them effectively if you hope to overcome consumer inertia and transform potential demand energy into real demand.

What’s more, great demand creators instinctively understand that even creating a powerful stream of demand isn’t enough—not unless you make a commitment to intense, ongoing improvement so as to meet, and exceed, the ever-rising expectations of your ever-changing customers. Like Olympic athletes who work year-round to shave another tenth of a second off their best time—and occasionally invent the dramatically new technique that revolutionizes their sport and catapults performance to a startlingly higher level—demand creators are always in training, constantly seeking ways to get better faster.

The rate at which a product gets better after its first release is its trajectory. The steeper the trajectory, the better for customers. Some products improve at a shallow, 5-degree angle, others at a more formidable 45-degree slope. A steep trajectory makes current customers happier, and gets new customers to join. It also sends a daunting signal to would-be competitors: If you want to tap into the demand we’ve created, it’s not good enough to produce a product that matches ours—because by the time you reach the market, we’ll be two miles further up the mountain.

Trajectory thinking often separates demand creation winners from also-rans. Not so long ago, Facebook was the second-ranked social networking site, while MySpace led the pack. But News Corporation failed to invest in innovation after it acquired MySpace in 2005, while Facebook charged ahead. By 2009, Facebook had overtaken MySpace; today, it’s hard to remember when the race was even competitive.

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