What Jersey Shore Can Teach Product Managers

What Jersey Shore Can Teach Product
Managers
Dr. Jim Anderson / (@drjimanderson)

2
www.BlueElephantConsulting.com
Come On, Admit It -- You Like To
Watch..
• The first season was filmed in
August 2009
– Averaging 1.375 million viewers
– Ranked #1 in its time period versus all
cable competition
– The season 1 finale audience, 4.8
million, was more than triple that of the
premiere, an increase of more than 3.4
million
– MTV's highest rated original series
telecast in almost two years
• Second season in Miami Beach
– Season 2 premiered on July 29, 2010
averaging 5.252 million viewers
• Third season has been announced
• Cast:
– Angelina "Jolie" Pivarnick
– Jenni "JWoww" Farley
– Michael "The Situation" Sorrentino
– Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi
– Paul "DJ Pauly D" DelVecchio
– Ronnie Ortiz-Magro
– Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola
– Vinny Guadagnino

3
Looks Count
• Observation: Looks are very important
• Conclusion: Taking the time to make your product look
good to your customer is important
• Questions: Where do customers "see" your product?
How can you make a product look "good"?

4
Does Your Product Have A
Nick-Name?
• Observation: Reputation &
nick-name count
• Conclusion: When customers
refer to your product by a nick-
name, you have a relationship
with them.
• Questions: Can you create a
nick-name for your product?
How can you get customers to
use it? Can you competition
create a nick-name for your
product?

5
Routines
• Observation: GLT - Gym, Tan,
& Laundry
• Conclusion: Routine is
important to your customers
and your product has to fit into
their routine, not the other way
around.
• Questions: How can you find
out what your customer's
routines are? Will you have to
replace some part of their
routine if you want to fit in?
Can you create new routine?

6
We Like People Who Are Like Us
• Observation: Want to associate
with people like them – guidos and
guidettes
• Conclusion: Customers
themselves want to be seen as
being unique and belonging to a
special or unique group.
• Questions: Do you think that to
make a sale, you need to be
accepted by your customer's
peers? Do you need to somehow
associate with their world? Can
you show how you fit in or do they
need to identify how you fit in?

7
Multiple Models
• Observation: Multiple models
to choose from – 8 cast
members
• Conclusion: No set of
customers is going to like
every product that you have to
offer. You need to be able to
offer multiple products.
• Questions: How many
products is enough? How
many is too many? How
different do they need to be?

8
Distinction
• Observation: Every product
must have a distinct
personality
• Conclusion: products that you
offer and those offered by your
competition need to be very
different from one another
• Questions: How can you
differentiate your product – just
features? How do characters
on the show differ – 4 boys
and 4 girls?

9
It’s A Small World
• Observation: You need to
keep your product's world very
small
• Conclusion: In order to get
your customers to consider
your product, you need to
narrow their focus to just what
your product does.
• Questions: How can you keep
the focus small? What can you
do if your customers won't
concentrate?

10
Control The Conversation
• Observation: No cell phones
because that doesn't make for
good TV
• Conclusion: Distractions or
conversations that you aren't
part of will harm your ability to
sell your product
• Questions: how can you make
all information flow through
you? Should you? How can
you prevent your customer
from becoming distracted and
not making a decision?

11
Play Nice
• Observation: How your
product plays with other
products is important
• Conclusion: no product
stands alone, it's how it works
with other products that makes
things interesting
• Question: can you predict how
your product will work with
other products? What if it
doesn’t get along with another
product? Who needs to do
what?

12
So Much Drama!
• Observation: Everyone likes to
watch drama
• Conclusion: Life can be boring –
drama is exciting, but stress is not.
If your product makes your
customer more competitive they'll
like it and you
• Questions: How can you keep the
drama going? What is your
responsibly and how much is the
customer's responsibility for using
your product correctly?

13
Frenemies
• Observation: Friends become
enemies who then become
friends
• Conclusion: your competition
may become your ally over
time, and visa versa
• Question: how often should
you check to see if things have
changed? Is there anything
that you can do to prepare for
a friend to become an enemy?

14
It’s All About Family
• Observation: In the end,
everyone is part of one big
family
• Conclusion: your customer
and you are joined together
once they buy your product
• Question: who's in charge of
the relationship? What does
"being family" really mean for a
vendor and a customer? Can
the relationship ever go away?

15
Who’s Your Partner?
• Observation: Partnerships matter
– a lot!
• Conclusion: today things have
become so complicated that most
firms can't make a sale just on
their products alone
• Question: how many partnerships
can a product manager maintain?
How can you leverage a
partnership? Can you abuse a
partnership? How can you repair a
damaged partnership?

16
So Sad
• Observation: Despite a lot of
bluster, the cast is actually
quite lonely and looking for
real relationships.
• Conclusion: how your
customers act may be very
different from what they are
feeling
• Questions: how can you find
out how your customers are
really feeling? Once you know
this, how can you use this
information?

17
Don’t Write It Down!
• Observation: Some things are
best communicated in person, not
in a note left behind.
• Conclusion: when you have bad
news for your customer, how you
communicate it can be as
important as what you say
• Questions: what is the best way
to communicate bad news? What
if it's something that you are not
supposed to know? What is your
obligation to tell your customer
bad news about your product?

18
Branding
• Observation Become your own
brand. (Snooki has unique dance
moves to her signature poof)
• Conclusion: your customers want
to be seen as being unique even if
they don't know how – you see a
lot of customers, they want to be
special
• Questions: How can you help
them to feel as though they are
unique? Is this a one time deal or
do you need to keep doing it?
Why is it important?

19
You’re Fired!
• Observation: Start performing at
work or you will be replaced
[Angelina, who got fired from her
gig at a T-shirt shop for failing to
show up]
• Conclusion: once you've won a
customer, you need to keep
working to maintain the
relationship
• Question: How can you show that
you are working on the
relationship? What does "showing
up for work" mean when you are
dealing with someone who is
already a customer?

20
Invest In You
• Observation: Invest in your
career.
• Conclusion: you need to keep
improving your product
• Question: how can you show your
customer that you are investing in
your product? How can you show
the world that you are improving
your product? How can you prove
that you are improving your
product more than your
competition is improving their
product?

21
Finances
• Observation: Choose where to
save and splurge. [why the cast
saved money on expensive group
meals by eating at home during
filming and spent their extra cash
on drinks at the clubs.]
• Conclusion: spend time in non-
sales activities with your
customers to prepare for when
you have something to sell to
them
• Questions: what else can you
work with your customers that
doesn't have to do with selling
them stuff?

22
Buy In Bulk
• Observation: Buy in bulk
whenever possible. [Pauly D, the
Rhode Island DJ who says he
buys his I-C-E Spiker hair gel in
bulk, just in case it ever gets
discontinued.]
• Conclusion: know what your
customers current alternative to
using your product is
• Questions: do they have a back-
up plan? Should you help them to
create one? Can you use fear of
loss to drive more sales?

23
It’s A Small World (Again!)
• Observation: they live
together
• Conclusions: the closer your
customers are to either you or
other potential customers, the
better the chances of
something happening
• Questions: How can you use
the various proximity's (you,
customers, vendors) to
improve sales? Can you make
your competition not so close?

24
Gotta Love Those Lists
• Observation: Lists can help
[Snookie made a list of qualities
she's looking for in a guy. Those
of which include somebody who is
tanned, a guido and a juicehead.]
• Conclusions: instead of guessing
what your customer is looking for,
ask them if they have a list
• Questions: if they do have a list,
what should you do with it? If they
don't have a list, should you help
them to create one?

25
Baby, Promise You’re Going To Call?
• Observation: Once you get a
pretty girl's phone number, you
have to follow up with a call.
• Conclusion: Product mangers
need to quickly follow up after
trade shows.
• Questions: What should you
say when you call? What
should your goal be (you're
NOT going to make a sale).

26
So Where Do I Go From Here?
www.TheAccidentalPM.com

27

What Jersey Shore Can Teach Product Managers

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