What is a "big product"

What is a product? This question seems to be very simple. As a consumer, as long as you eat, wear, use, play, that is all the product. However, we actually need a management definition. There is a saying that a product is an invisible carrier of living objects that meet the needs and desires of the people, in the final analysis, virtually anything that can be provided to the marketplace, used and consumed by people, and able to satisfy people's needs Things, including any tangible objects, intangible services, organizations, ideas live their portfolio.

In fact, this definition is complete, but unfortunately, it is still just a definition of the industrial age. Although there are references to people who use and consume products, users and consumers in the definition sound like still passive individuals or groups with weak subjectivity. In the Internet age, we need to add more content to the user to give the user the main body of the content, and this kind of additive can be broadly divided into two categories: one is the information, the other is the spread.

Product is information

Big data can be described as hot now. Many businesses are wondering how big data should be used for analysis to increase their receivables and increase market share, but few think carefully about how they can add more data to their products. This will not only make the product, at the same time, Also make product development a higher level.

Thomas Lederman mentions a concept in his blog on the Harvard Business Review website, and I think it's a deep affirmation that every company needs an "informationalization" strategy, and the "informatization" mentioned here Refers to the common use of computer technology, network technology and a series of modern technology, through the depth of information resources development and extensive use of continuously improve production, management, management, decision-making efficiency and level, so as to enhance the economic efficiency of enterprises and The process of business competitiveness; narrowly defined as product thinking, which means making it more valuable to customers by building more data and information in existing products and services.

Almost all products and services can be through such "information" and enhance the value. For example, by having GPS in the car, owners can get to their destination faster, saving time and fuel, giving the car a higher value.

GPS is just a sensor. In today's cars, there are more and more sensors that not only make the car easier to use but also give the manufacturer an opportunity to better understand the car's condition and the condition of the owner by calling up the data in the sensor Feedback these data back into the design process to optimize the future consumer experience.

Informational lies in the confluence of two ancient needs. The first is that there is no limit to the improvement of products and services. The second is that all people want more personal and professional life Relevant, timely, accurate, easy to grasp, detailed and integrated data.

Leiderman's inspiration comes from the futurist Stan Davis. As early as 1992, Davis put forward a series of informatization formulas in Vision 2020, such as:

Informative = Personalized Product + Quick Response;

Informatization = Manufacture at delivery place;

Information = reduction of management costs, inventory and working capital;

Information + direct entry = higher service standards;

Informatization = link within the organization;

Informatization + Logistics = Globalization

So while Big Data Analytics / Mining is important, product informatization is important, and companies need a process from Big Data to Big Products. Although the former attracts more attention, the latter is actually easier to use, can bring better benefits and enhances the company's competitive advantage.

From single value to interactive value

Of course, value is obtained from traditional products and services with small amounts of information and data, but the value is single, unlike the products and services that follow "informatization" that capture the value of interaction.

What is interactive value? In summation Haier's restructuring experience, I have put forward a formula: interactive value = information volume / scale.

How does an interaction have value? Because it is infused with information.

Information can add value to your product. Standardization solves the problem of mass production, but does not raise the value of a single product, but even dilutes the value of a single product due to the scarcity of standardized production. The information can enhance the added value of the product itself, the greater the amount of information, the greater the value of the product. Therefore, the value of interactive products is equal to the amount of information divided by the size.

In the industrial age, enterprises had to adopt standardized production methods in order to realize large-scale production, so that the value of each product was relatively reduced. Those high value-added products that have not been mass-produced due to the high cost of the high prices. In the future, open-source design with 3D printing and a more flexible robot assembly line will enable companies to sell small-scale products at reasonable prices for large-scale, customized production. Customized production more in line with people's diverse needs, in fact, each product attached to the special information to cater to different people's expectations, this approach will undoubtedly increase the value of the product itself.

Service is also true. The unpleasant experience for consumers comes from the slow service, inaccurate orders, and the various situations in which they need extra effort. These are closely related to the information. By focusing on "reducing the speed of information resistance," organizations can create a different user experience than many other services.

Consumers are tired today and continue to be treated as "legged wallets." Business leaders must understand that commerce is more than buying and selling trade or exchange of money. Business should and should gradually become an extension of personal contacts that accompany the customer's life. While traders often think that business is selling something to their customers, the true leader knows that all business is personal. Ultimately, business success relies on a group of people paying attention to and profit from others. The average company often provides "one size fits all" service, but the legendary company, always find beyond the curing service platform to create a personalized experience path.

Everything is commoditized (thanks in large part to the speed of information delivery, to consumers' mastery of technology, to the media by continually telling people that they need to be economically vulnerable), delivering a precise, fluid and convenient user experience at work , Which provides a solid guarantee for the company's fight against stereotyped commoditization - which focuses on maintaining personal connections with consumers. And to maintain personal contact can only rely on information, but can not rely on the scale.

Only consumers who feel "shocked" brand to survive and develop. In contrast, brands that satisfy consumers alone are on the verge of extinction.

The product is transmitted

The information is only the first type of product additive, the second type of additive is the spread. Add to the product to spread a bit puzzling, in fact, is to establish the product of the spread of sharing mechanisms, so that the product is contagious. With the spread of the product, we call it "viral" product, its growth is organic, by the user's recommendation, each existing user will bring more than one new user.

If a product has the following five characteristics, it can be called "viral" products.

First, the core uses of the product are enhanced through interaction. If a product's use fails to do so, users have no incentive to fanatically share their product experience. This does not mean that if the product is used in isolation, the product is of no value, but rather that the user of the product realizes that the product becomes more valuable by interacting with other users.

Second, users of the product can form a network around the use of the product. The web is used here to describe a group of people with common interests and goals, or people with similar traits. Viral communication needs to be of sufficient size to continually "recruit" communicators. Small networks do not provide this, so niche products suffer from viral growth because of their limited applicability and the limited ability of any given user to understand who the product will hold.

Third, the product benefits from existing relationships. The convenience of users interacting with users is not necessarily enough to stimulate viral transmission; some products can skillfully implement interaction between users, but do not grow "viruses" because users lack motivation to introduce others to use the product. For example, if a game allows for the random selection of multiple players, their experience will not be enhanced by the communication of these players because there is no existing personal connection between these players. This shows that a viral product relies on a real-world network that exists in the real world and that if a product is to grow, it must be spread among its users' existing networks.

An example is Skype, which allows users to make accidental connections over a wide area, as well as interesting conversations (and a lot of nuisance), but the real point of detonation is that Skype connects people who know each other If it does not develop such a feature or does not enhance such a feature, it will not be able to gain viral growth. WeChat large-scale popularity is to take advantage of this: To register WeChat, either by QQ, or by cell phone number, which are filtered through a layer, that is, WeChat account, is already after two Layer of screening. Especially the phone number, almost a phone number corresponds to a real person. From the beginning of WeChat 5.0, the registration page even the "use QQ number login" options are gone, only through the phone number to register.

Fourth, the product has a strong ability to retain users. If you make recommendations to other users on a single product (that is, issue a "virus invitation") equal to your endorsement of the product, you will be concerned about your creditworthiness. They are hesitant to recommend products that they are not entirely familiar with and particularly fond of, since they are risking their reputation if they are not convinced by the usefulness of the product. Therefore, the higher the user retention rate, the more likely the user will recommend to other users.

Fifth, the use of products must be easy and easy to identify. A person who receives a virus invitation observes whether the benefits of a product can be quickly determined, including the usefulness, the level of interest, and the relevance, which can greatly affect how much of the person who receives the invitation translates into actual user. The retention rate is related to the number of viral invitations; the conversion rate is related to the degree of recognition of product use. The attractiveness of the virus and the ease of use of the product enhance each other. Ease of doing better, will result in greater user conversion rate, these users will turn to make more invitations, resulting in more users.

With more information and more dissemination elements, the traditional products are reborn as "big products."