How would you pitch the nicotine patch to a VC? There is a right way to do it!
Customer: Somebody who smokes cigarettes.
Market: There are 1.1 billion smokers in the world.
Problem: Smoking is bad. Tobacco consumption is the single largest preventable cause of death in the world.
Solution: The nicotine patch helps smokers quit by replacing cigarettes as a source of nicotine.
What do you think? Is that the right pitch?
If you’re a scientist, an engineer, or a doctor, that probably sounds right.
But if you’re an investor, a marketer, or an entrepreneur, that pitch is all wrong.
Compare:
Customer: A smoker who’s trying to quit.
Market: On average, 5% of smokers are actively trying to quit at any given time. Every year $1B of smoking cessation products are sold, from e-cigarettes to gum.
Problem: Quitting is hard. Nicotine is addictive.
Solution: The nicotine patch helps quitters succeed by replacing cigarettes as a source of nicotine.
Clayton Christensen is best known for his Disruption theory, but he deserves equal billing for the “jobs” perspective. For a product to succeed, it has to do a job for the customer.
In the first pitch, the patch helps smokers quit.
In the second pitch, the patch helps quitters succeed.
This can be the difference between getting three term sheets in a week, and spending a year collecting rejections.
The customer has to already want to do a job. Your product merely helps them achieve their desire.
(The inception of that desire is a separate part of the marketing mix – that’s where advertising and other forms of promotion come in. The sellers of nicotine patches spend plenty of money on their customer funnel – they convert active smokers into intending quitters, they convert intending quitters into customers, and they convert customers into evangelists.)
Pains and gains converge to “I want to do X, and I need a better/easier/faster/reliable/cheaper way.”