Archive for the ‘Marketing/Pricing/Positioning’ Category
What Job Do You Hire the Apple Watch For?
After the recent Apple keynote, a friend sent me these questions:
- Is the watch now a permanent part of your purchase? Buy one every 2 years to pair with your iPhone?
- What would have to happen for you to say – it is not worth spending $350 to have a watch on my wrist?
- Why buy a $350 Apple when a $100-$200 Pebble gives you the same functionality?
The question behind the question is, what is the compelling reason to buy a product. Read the rest of this entry »
iPhone 5S: Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli
There is a scene in “The Godfather”, where Rocco kills Paulie Gatto in the car and Clemenza tells Rocco, “Leave the gun, take the cannoli”. Clemenza’s wife has asked him to bring some cannoli home, but he has another task to be done. He has to finish Gatto, Vito Corleone’s driver, for treason. So the murder takes place during the cannoli errand. After Rocco kills Gatto, Clemenza instructs him to leave the gun, but to take the cannoli.
What is the significance of this line, and why am I bringing it up here in reference to the iPhone 5S? In the mob world, a murder is just part of the job, not much to be dwelled upon. Other things, like cannoli, are more important. We’ll see how this applies to the iPhone 5S. Read the rest of this entry »
The Insanely Great Product Manager – Part 4: Communicate Value
After understanding value, creating value, and capturing value, we now come to the next part of the value journey, i.e. communicating value.
A product manager has to be an effective communicator. Effective communication is timely, concise, and inspiring, yet with a lot of empathy. In the daily grind of the job, there are numerous things that pull a product manager in many different directions, yet, the opportunity to communicate with different stakeholders is always welcome. Read the rest of this entry »
101 Pricing and Negotiation
Seemingly everyday and mundane things sometimes end up being a good business lesson. I am back in India after some travel. Yesterday I had to get some kids photos printed in order to give our friends who are moving to Singapore. It was late in the evening when I stopped by one of the small photo printing outlets that is inconspicuously located at the back of a general store. Below is my conversation with the “PhotoGuy” which took place in Hindi and which I narrated to the family once I got home. It may seem like I am negotiating a very small amount (less than $1), which my wife pointed out to me, but it is not about the amount as hopefully will be clear from the dialog. Read the rest of this entry »
The Insanely Great Product Manager – Part 3: Capture Value
After “Understanding Value” in Part 1, and “Creating Value” in Part 2, we come to the third aspect of the value journey, “Capturing Value”. When we think of capturing value, the topic of pricing comes up as important. While price is an important aspect of capturing value, it is not the only one. The price of the product allows capturing value in the economic sense.
What If You Are Not Like Steve Jobs?
Some days back I started reading Walter Isaacson‘s “Steve Jobs” all over again. Chapter fifteen, titled “The Launch” is about the launch of the first Macintosh in 1984, and ends with the following sentences: Read the rest of this entry »
PRODUCT LEADERSHIP 