1. NET PAIN
Simple principle to understand why some products are great(er)
Wednesday, January 23, 13

2. This presentation just tries to help me be a better product manager
and understand more thoroughly how all products work. It’s just a hack
of a theory.. and in all likelihood, I’m not the one who actually invented
it - even if I’m trying to coin this principle. Let me know what you think.
Wednesday, January 23, 13

3. Why do some products make
it and others don’t?
Wednesday, January 23, 13

4. Better Timing? More Features? In all
Channels? Better Brand? Right price?
Wednesday, January 23, 13

5. No!
.. because NET PAIN -principle, why.
Wednesday, January 23, 13

6. Consumers will always opt
for the product which totals
the least pain in net sum
(compared to the
alternatives).
Wednesday, January 23, 13

7. Pain of Acquiring a product
+ Pain of Using a Product
+ Pain Relieved by a Product
= NET PAIN
Wednesday, January 23, 13

8. Pain of acquiring
.. a product is a sum of pain of all things that
need to happen before using it ..
.. installation, discovery, sourcing, buying
options, costs, learning to use it, etc.
Wednesday, January 23, 13

9. Pain of acquiring
.. can be your obstacle to entering
a market or your unfair advantage.
Wednesday, January 23, 13

10. In concrete:
Ferrari Italia relieves lots of pain by making driving enjoyable,
but may be well beyond my pain-limits for a price of a car.
Wednesday, January 23, 13

11. In concrete:
For my need to unwind with great music - Spotify will beat
buying a CD from a store, because it is way less painful.
Wednesday, January 23, 13

12. In concrete:
I might have the money
and will to fly to the
moon with a crew, but in
case I can’t complete the
training for it - I won’t be
your target customer.
Wednesday, January 23, 13

13. Pain of using
.. a product is a a sum of pain related to ..
.. its usability, how much it does for me
(integratedness, completeness) and how
difficult it is to operate.
Wednesday, January 23, 13

14. Pain of using
.. can be your obstacle to entering
a market or your unfair advantage.
Wednesday, January 23, 13

15. In concrete:
Integrated solutions beat
separate solutions any day,
due to the pain and hassle
of operating multiple
systems for completing a
task.
Wednesday, January 23, 13

16. In concrete:
Apple iOS won the market over for its lack of distracting
features. It seemed less painful, because it was simple to use.
Wednesday, January 23, 13

17. Pain relieved
.. by a product refers to ..
.. sum of all painpoints it makes non-existent. It
makes me feel relived. In other words: it’s the value
product delivers by solving the problems it solves.
Wednesday, January 23, 13

18. Pain relieved
.. can also, be your obstacle to
entering a market or your unfair
advantage.
Wednesday, January 23, 13

19. In concrete:
Your product might be at
the best channels and for
free - but if it doesn’t solve
a problem, relive a pain, it
will be worthless to me.
Wednesday, January 23, 13

20. In concrete:
Your product might be the
most expensive and most
difficult to get, but if it
makes me feel good enough
- I’ll make all sacrifices
needed to own it.
Wednesday, January 23, 13

21. In concrete:
Your product might
just make me feel
better, even it lacks
on other attributes
in comparision to
another product.
Wednesday, January 23, 13

22. For a consumer to choose your product - it must
deliver a positive score.
The way of valueing the level of pain - defines a
market. For some markets, the pain related to
acquring an expensive product is bearable - in
others it might not be.
Wednesday, January 23, 13

23. To win hearts: optimize for least net pain.
To do it - you need to understand the pain your relieving (job
your product does) and compare your proposition against
others in the market: do they solve more pain points than you
do? are are they less painful to acquire? are they less painful to
use?
Or simply: think where can you reduce friction, to generate less
pain? Streamlining will make your product more valuable. Or, if
you need to add more pain in use or acquring - make sure you
really relive more pain after doing so.
Wednesday, January 23, 13

24. Pain relieved by a product must be
greater than the sum of pain it creates
while I use it and when I acquire it.
More than that, the NET PAIN of your
product must bebetter than any
competitors offer - for the consumer to
choose it.
Wednesday, January 23, 13

25. Less pain the better, in net
sum, that is.
Wednesday, January 23, 13