The First Mile: A Launch Manual for Getting Great Ideas into the Market by Scott D. Anthony

Author:Scott D. Anthony
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
Published: 2014-03-31T18:30:00+00:00

Kraft’s DiGiorno pizza truck

Perhaps even more importantly than the specific learning, the team learned that if they set their mind to what seemed like a ridiculous goal—earning revenue fewer than one hundred days after presenting an idea to management—they could achieve amazing things and develop rich insights into their business.

Sadly for those whose mouths are now watering and who are looking to Google the location of the nearest DiGiorno pizza truck, in 2010 Kraft sold the brand off to Nestlé, which decided not to continue the project. But the process certainly helped Kraft begin to rebuild its innovation capabilities, setting the stage for further success in 2010 and beyond under the guidance of Vice President of Breakthrough Innovation Barry Calpino.

13. Run a Small-Base Usage Test

When the most critical unknowns are around consumer behavior, it is important to get your idea into the hands of real people for some period of time. The point isn’t to maximize revenue or profits but to figure out if you have found the winning combination of a compelling solution to an important problem. In some cases, gathering potential customers for an afternoon can be sufficient, but other ideas require usage over time to determine patterns of behavior, customer referral, and so on.

The difference between a business model prototype and a small-base usage test is that the former focuses more on economic assumptions, whereas the latter focuses more on end customer use.

Chapter 3 told the story of Align, the probiotic solution for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) sufferers introduced by P&G. It was quite clear that for the business to scale, the ultimate business model would be P&G’s traditional model of mass-market advertising coupled with widespread distribution through retail channels. However, given that the key uncertainty was around everyday use and repeat purchase, P&G ran an experiment through a special-purpose website called aligngi.com, where consumers could order the product. P&G worked with doctors in three US cities to stimulate demand. Word began to spread in online communities populated by IBS sufferers, and within a few months orders had come in from almost every US state.

Direct distribution allowed P&G to regularly engage with consumers via online forums and diaries to learn more about usage frequency, repeat purchase, and more. Not only did this experiment increase confidence that P&G had a big idea on its hands, it provided useful learning about packaging, branding, and communicating with the consumer. For example, consumers had to take the product every day for it to be effective, and a few told P&G they couldn’t always remember if they had taken the pill or not. P&G modified packaging so that pills were in a simple blister pack that had the days of the week on it, making it much easier for consumers to stay on track.

14. Conduct an Operational Pilot

While the previous experiments were about focused learning, an operational pilot is meant to essentially be a small-scale version of the envisioned business. It is a fully integrated experiment, with a goal of developing a plan to launch and scale a business.

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