Product Creation

Doing More Than You’ve Done

Garth Beyer

Of course that’s not possible, but feeling like you’ve done more than you have is.

Shoes tell a lot about a person. I always say that you never have to step in anyone’s shoes to know what their life is like, you’ve just got to look at the bottom of them.

Tried and true… until recently.

I’m wearing my second pair of Steve Madden shoes and I feel bad. I feel like I’ve done more than I actually have. You look at the bottom of my shoes and all traction is worn flat. Oh, and the soles are cracked, creating a hole for my heel to nearly touch the pavement with each step. (They actually did with my last pair!)

Alas, I’ve done very little of anything exciting while wearing these shoes. A few dress-up events here, a few nice dinners there and that’s it. No parkour, no carnivals, or community interactive events. In other words, I’ve done little while wearing these shoes. They seem to reflect the opposite.

Maybe it’s just me. Maybe most people will only think the shoe is poorly made, and it is, but one thing is guaranteed: everything you use makes you feel something.

People love products that make them feel good, make them feel motivated, better-than-average, and like they accomplished something. Whether you think about how you feel when you use something or not, if you’re creating something for someone else to use, you don’t have a choice but to consider it.

 

Stay Positive & How Does That Make You Feel?

Garth E. Beyer

Looking Like The Good Guy

Garth Beyer

If you’re given 10 free canvases, you still need to buy the paint.

If a friend gives you his old Gameboy, you still need to come up with the games.

When you buy an iPod, you have to get all the songs and shows you want.

Smart product creation is when you pay a large amount for one product that forces you to spend small amounts on what you need to use it: paints, games, songs, etc,.

Keurig is letting Madisonians trade in their used corded coffee makers for a brand new Keurig, looking like the good guy.

But now those that trade up have to buy K cups to go with it. Short term loss for Keurig, but creating a long-term gain. From my estimates, it will take roughly 300 K-cups for the Keurig to be paid off. From then on, it’s all profit.

(The target audience in itself is brilliant. They are appealing strictly to frequent to extreme coffee drinkers. Point for another post, perhaps.)

Keurig makes itself look good, but really it’s genius product design. Not necessarily making them the bad guy, but just a reminder that your habit is their profit, making you the product.

If it weren’t for the ease of pirating music. I’m sure Apple would be letting you upgrade your mp3 player to an iPod. I think we can cope though. It takes a very special product to pull off what Keurig is.

 

Stay Positive & It’s Coffee Time

Garth E. Beyer