Custom Packaging Bag Interpretation: Why Don't Consumers Buy Your Products?

How to innovate is a problem that plagues almost all companies. In reality, it is common to see that innovations that require enormous effort and resources are not recognized by the market and users. How to solve this problem? Shunxingyuan Packaging, a professional flexible packaging manufacturer, proposed the "User Goal Achievement Theory." This theory can not only help companies solve the above problems but also allow companies to better understand user needs.

For many years, innovation has been the most important issue for companies worldwide, but it has also often been disappointing.

A McKinsey survey shows that 84% of global executives believe that innovation is extremely important to a company's growth strategy; and as high as 94% of respondents are still dissatisfied with their own innovation performance.

In 2015, an article in the magazine "Strategy & Business" pointed out that 1,000 listed companies spent a total of US$680 billion on R&D alone, a 5.1% increase from the previous year. Similar situations have continued to this day.

The big data revolution has significantly increased the diversity, quantity, and speed of data, and has also increased the complexity of analytical tools. People's expectations for data algorithms are higher than ever. However, even with the analysis results of massive data, most companies still do not understand users better because of it.

 

 

The conclusion of the "relevance" between users and products seems to obscure the deeper truth behind the data, namely, "What are the user's goals?"

Taking the users of a certain brand of chewing gum as an example, if one of the buyers meets several characteristics such as "age 30-35, urban white-collar worker, monthly income 8000-10000 yuan, has a mortgage to repay," and happens to be similar to the characteristics of some other buyers, it is easy to depict the user portrait of this product through association. However, these characteristics did not actually induce any of them to buy this chewing gum.

Life is full of tasks waiting for people to complete. When the product itself or the form in which the product appears can help people complete their target tasks, it is most likely to promote purchasing behavior.

For example, when queuing up to pay at the supermarket, in order to complete the task of killing time, some customers choose to pick a chewing gum on a shelf next to the checkout counter. This was one of the user goals of chewing gum buyers before the advent of smartphones.

When the task of killing time is easily accomplished by playing with mobile phones, the sales of chewing gum naturally decline. This part of the decline in sales cannot be compensated by enriching the flavors or improving the lasting fragrance. The direction of innovation lies in exploring other more specific user goals.

1. User goals refer to

the "progress" pursued by users in a specific context

 

 

"User Goal Achievement Theory" is the latest research result of Clayton Christensen, a master of innovation and the father of disruptive innovation theory, over 20 years.

The core of this theory has a simple but powerful idea: users do not actually buy products or services, but to make their lives better, so they bring these products or services into their lives. We call this improvement "user goals."

In other words, users "hire" these products or services to complete certain tasks. After understanding this concept, you will find that "discovering user goals" is a very intuitive idea.

User goals include the following elements:

1. Progress

We define "user goals" as the progress that someone wants to achieve in a specific context. This is not only a new way to classify users or user problems, but also the key to understanding why users choose this product.

We deliberately chose the word "progress," which represents moving towards a goal or desire. User goals are the process of making progress, and they are rarely single and independent.

It is not necessarily because there is a "problem" that user goals will appear, but solving problems and the difficulties that arise in this process are also a form of progress.

2. Context

The concept of "context" is included in user goals. The definition of user goals must be related to a specific context so that companies can develop successful solutions. When defining the context of user goals, you may need to answer dozens of important questions.

For example, "Where are you?" "When?" "Who are you with?" "What are you doing?" "What were you doing half an hour ago?" "What are you going to do next?" "What social, cultural, or political pressures are you under?" etc.

The concept of context can also be extended to other contextual factors, such as life stage ("freshly graduated from college?" "facing a midlife crisis?" "about to retire?"), family situation ("married, single, divorced?" "have a newborn, toddler, or elderly parents to take care of?"), financial situation ("deep in debt?" "a wealthy family?") etc.

Context is fundamental to defining user goals (and finding solutions) because the nature of progress is always deeply influenced by context.

We particularly emphasize "context," not nitpicking or simply for semantics, context is the root of user goals.

In our experience, managers often overlook this. When pursuing innovation, they often only follow one of the principles of product attributes, user characteristics, trends, and competitive responses, or a combination of these four.

The problem is not that these principles are bad or wrong (in fact, these are the principles that everyone most often chooses), but that these principles are not numerous enough to predict user behavior.

3. Complexity of functional, social, and emotional levels

Finally, user goals are inherently complex and diverse. They include not only functional user goals but also social and emotional user goals.

Many innovations focus on functional or practical needs, but users' social or emotional needs may far exceed their functional needs.

Imagine how you find childcare services. Yes, the functional user goal is important ("Can you safely care for your child in a way and place that suits your life?"), but social and emotional user goals may have a greater impact on your choice ("Who am I going to entrust my child to?").

2. User goals are not general "needs"

 

 

"User goals" are completely different from the concept of "needs" in traditional marketing. User goals are more clearly defined for the problems you want to solve.

Needs always exist, so they are relatively general. For example, "I need to eat" is a statement that is almost always true. This is a basic human need.

However, simply "needing to eat" doesn't drive people to choose a specific product, or even to eat at all. After all, everyone has skipped a meal for various reasons.

At the same time, needs alone cannot explain all behavior. For example, people may eat when they are not hungry at all, for many reasons.

"I need to feel healthy," "I need to save for retirement," etc., are also important needs for users. However, because these descriptions are too general, they are very vague for innovators, who don't know how to meet these needs.

Needs are like trends; they can point to a general direction, but they cannot pinpoint why a user would choose one product over another.

The user goal achievement theory considers more complex situations. For example, the context of "I need to eat," and other needs that are important to me at the moment, can vary greatly.

Take the classic "milkshake case" as an example.

This is a case study of a fast-food chain. Managers spent months researching "how to increase milkshake sales." They interviewed typical milkshake consumers, asking questions such as: "Please tell us, what can we improve to get people to buy more milkshakes? Should we lower the price, make the milkshake thicker, or add more chocolate flavor?"

Even when customers expressed their preferences, the fast-food managers still didn't know what to do. They tried many things based on customer feedback, but after several months, they clearly saw no change in performance.

Using the "user goal achievement theory," can this problem be explored in a completely different way? Christensen's research team believes that the first question to consider is: What "tasks" need to be solved in these customers' lives that lead them to buy milkshakes at this fast-food restaurant?

Marketers began to re-observe all customers and found that quite a few customers came to buy milkshakes alone before 9 am, and they almost only bought milkshakes, taking them away directly after purchasing. So they asked these customers: "Why do you come here to buy milkshakes? What is your purpose in buying milkshakes?"

At first, these customers couldn't answer. Later, they were asked what they would buy if they didn't buy milkshakes, and then everyone knew how to answer. Researchers quickly discovered that these customers who came to buy milkshakes in the morning all wanted to solve the same task: their commute to work was very long, and they would feel bored, so they needed to add some fun. They weren't actually hungry, but they might be hungry in another two or three hours. They had many choices for something to fill their stomachs, but no food was as perfect as a milkshake.

One customer said: "Sometimes I'll buy a banana. But bananas really aren't suitable; they digest too quickly, and I get hungry soon." In addition, donuts are too crumbly, and they get your hands sticky after eating, dirtying your clothes and steering wheel. Bagels are too dry and tasteless, and if you want to spread cheese and jam, you have to use your knees to control the steering wheel.

Another customer frankly admitted: "Once I bought a Snickers bar, but using it as breakfast made me feel guilty, and I never bought a Snickers again."

And milkshakes? Milkshakes are the perfect option. A thick milkshake can be sipped through a straw for a long time, and it won't make you feel hungry quickly. The cup packaging fits perfectly in the cup holder, and it's easy to hold with one hand.

Therefore, milkshakes are better suited to solve their tasks than other "competitors." For the store, the so-called "competitors" are not only milkshakes from other fast-food restaurants but also bananas, bagels, donuts, breakfast bars, smoothies, coffee, etc.

When the marketing team collected customer answers and analyzed the characteristics of these people, they noticed something: the commonality of these milkshake buyers had nothing to do with their personal circumstances; they simply had similar tasks to solve in the morning.

This task is to help me stay awake, have something to do, and make the commute to work more interesting.

In addition, the store also sells many milkshakes in the afternoon and evening. The same customer may have completely different goals for buying milkshakes in the morning or afternoon.

One afternoon, a man took his child to the milkshake shop and bought a milkshake for his child. The user's goal at this time is to satisfy the child's wishes and create the image of a good parent.

Many parents will say "no" to their children's various demands, such as "no new toys," "no late nights," "no keeping that dog," etc. But such parents will also find opportunities to cultivate parent-child relationships.

They want to find something harmless to do to show their love. In a milkshake shop, such an opportunity arises! Although snacks are not allowed at home near mealtimes, this is outside.

Faced with the question, "Can I order a milkshake?", parents can finally say, "Sure." At that moment, this milkshake is not competing with bananas, Snickers, or donuts like the morning milkshake, but with time spent shopping for toys or playing ball or watching cartoons.

If the customer's morning task is to need a thick milkshake that he can sip for a long time during his long and boring commute, then the same customer's afternoon task is to "be a good dad to comfort his child," and the milkshake he needs is completely different from the morning.

Perhaps in the afternoon, the store should offer smaller, thinner milkshakes for the child to finish quickly. If this fast-food restaurant only focuses on how to "improve" the product overall, such as "thicker," "sweeter," "larger cup," then it is focusing on the wrong analysis.

This is the key.

III. Methods for Discovering User Goals

 

 

1. Look for it in life

In this data-obsessed world, examples of innovation based on intuition may be surprising, but they have indeed produced great achievements.

Akio Morita, the founder of Sony, is one of them. He opposed market research and believed that: "Carefully observe how people live, intuitively understand what they want, and then do it."

Sony encountered a bottleneck in the technological breakthrough of the Walkman, because market research at the time showed that consumers would not buy a cassette player without a recording function, nor did they like to use headphones.

But Akio Morita ignored the marketing department's warnings, trusted his intuition, and decisively launched the cassette Walkman. As a result, Sony Walkman sales exceeded 330 million units, pioneering the popular culture of personal music players worldwide.

Unresolved tasks in life are fertile ground for innovation. Observe yourself, and your life will clearly reveal what you need. Things that are important to you may also be important to others.

2. Seek from "Non-consumption"

From people who are not using any product or service, you can also find user objectives waiting to be solved. We call this "non-consumption" (because when users cannot find a satisfactory solution, they may decide not to consume).

"Non-consumption" often holds the greatest opportunities.

Chip Conley, Airbnb's Global Head of Hospitality and Strategy, points out that 40% of Airbnb guests said they would not have started their trip at all if it weren't for Airbnb; they might have chosen to stay with relatives or friends.

Almost all Airbnb hosts said that if it weren't for Airbnb, they would not have considered renting out spare rooms or entire homes. For these travelers, Airbnb is competing with "non-consumption."

3. Identify temporary workarounds

As an innovator, when you see users adopting alternative methods or using temporary workarounds to solve life's problems, your heartbeat should quicken slightly, because it means you have discovered potential users — they are not satisfied with existing solutions and are very eager to solve the problem.

Food delivery platforms are a typical example. Before the advent of food delivery platforms, some restaurants outside schools and convenience stores downstairs in residential areas would actively offer home delivery services to attract more users, even hiring dedicated delivery personnel in addition to in-store staff.

Food delivery platforms discovered this problem for businesses, providing delivery services and solving problems for both customers and businesses simultaneously.

4. Pay attention to what you don't want to do

The things I don't want to do may be as numerous as the things I do want to do. I call the things I don't want to do "negative user objectives." In my experience, negative user objectives often lead to the best innovation opportunities.

Many people used to experience this trouble: a certain medication needed for long-term use is a prescription drug, which cannot be purchased at pharmacies. One has to regularly go to the hospital, queue for registration, wait for consultation, and ask a doctor to prescribe the medicine, often taking half a day and requiring leave from work.

Online pharmacies that have emerged in recent years have solved this problem. Communicating with doctors online, uploading identity information and hospital prescriptions via photos, allows for scheduling medication purchases.

People do not want to waste time in hospitals, and the emergence of online platforms has solved this problem.

5. Discover unusual uses of a product

By observing how users use your product, you can also discover many new business opportunities, especially when users' usage differs greatly from the company's expected usage.

Arm & Hammer baking soda from Church & Dwight has always been their flagship product, a must-have baking ingredient in American household kitchens.

In the late 1960s, company executives discovered that consumers were not only using baking soda for leavening flour but also as a cleaning agent. Housewives used baking soda to clean sinks, mixed it into laundry detergent and toothpaste, or placed open boxes in refrigerators to deodorize.

Before this, executives had not realized that this household item had other uses besides baking.

After seeing consumers' creative uses, they began to apply the Jobs-to-be-Done theory, first launching phosphate-free laundry detergent, and then a series of highly successful new products such as cat litter, carpet cleaners, air fresheners, and deodorizers.

Many Church & Dwight products are still on the market today, growing in variety and meeting various user objectives.

The cleaning tasks users needed to accomplish were not new; they had existed for a long time, just undiscovered. Today, baking soda accounts for less than 7% of Arm & Hammer's total product revenue. By observing user objectives, other new products have generated millions of dollars in profit.

If marketers understand market structure from the perspective of user objectives, rather than from product or user categories, then the potential market size will appear vastly different, and markets that previously seemed to have no business opportunities will suddenly present many growth opportunities.

Four, How to determine if what you found is a user objective ?

 

 

First, if you or your colleagues describe a "user objective" with adjectives and adverbs, it is not a true user objective.

For example, "convenience" is not a user objective; it might be an experience that prompts users to choose your product over a competitor's, but it is not a user objective.

Well-defined user objectives are expressed with verbs and nouns, for example, "I want to write a book using voice input so I don't have to type or handwrite."

Second, to ensure the practicality of the theory, it is important to define user objectives at an appropriate level of abstraction.

A good rule of thumb to help understand this statement is: if only products of the same category fit the system or product structure, then the user objective concept is not applicable.

That is, if only similar products can solve the problem, then what you have discovered is not a user objective.

As in the milkshake example above, in addition to milkshakes, users can also buy bananas, donuts, bagels, Snickers bars, or coffee to accomplish this task. These options come from different product categories, and according to the rule of thumb, this is the appropriate level of abstraction.

Five, Application of the Jobs-to-be-Done Theory

 

 

Over the past 20 years, Christensen's research team has been continuously practicing and improving the Jobs-to-be-Done theory.

As they helped many people solve various different problems, they unexpectedly discovered that the application of the Jobs-to-be-Done theory could be broader, perhaps even applicable to larger problems in families and society, such as personal life, education, healthcare, and so on.

1. Family Well-being

These questions might be worth exploring: What user objectives do parents have for their children? What tasks does a wife need her husband to help her accomplish?

For example, if something breaks at home, a wife might need her husband to fix it, she could also hire a worker, or simply fix it herself. Or, she decides to ignore it and turn a blind eye.

In this repair matter, the wife's user goals are to get the item fixed and to receive care.

The husband can fulfill the task of giving care, but most husbands often do poorly in this area, so the wife chooses to ask friends and family or professionals to complete this task, or simply endures the status quo without seeking a perfect solution.

Hopefully, as you read this, you also think about the tasks you want to accomplish in your life and whether you are handling them properly. This will be a thought-provoking exercise.

2. Public Education

Is "going to school" a task students want to accomplish?

No, going to school is just one of the options students can use to accomplish tasks. What students really want is "to achieve a sense of accomplishment every day," and they also need the company of friends.

Of course, going to school can accomplish these tasks, but they can also choose to join sports teams, get addicted to electronic game clubs, even drop out of school to join a gang, fight, and take drugs; these can all give them a sense of accomplishment and make "friends".

Therefore, in addition to improving academic performance, giving children a sense of accomplishment and the company of friends should also be a matter that educators should consider simultaneously.

3. Medical Services

Why is the utilization rate of medical systems in some countries gradually declining, while costs are still increasing at an alarming rate? The key to unlocking this puzzle is also the theory of user goal achievement.

For example, most people hope to stay healthy and not have to think about health issues, but medical institutions actually make money from patients getting sick. That is to say, they are "disease" care, not "health" care. When we are all healthy, these medical institutions will not make money.

For example, in the US medical system, the user goals that ordinary people want and the user goals provided by medical institutions are inconsistent.

Healthcare institutions focus on member wellness, rather than intervening until members get sick; they can also help members recover as quickly as possible when they are sick or effectively control chronic diseases. In this way, the user goals provided by healthcare professionals are consistent with the tasks users want to accomplish.

"What users pay for is usually not what companies think they are selling." The concept of user goal theory is not only applicable to business, but also to other scenarios such as family life, parent-child education, policy making, electing leaders, and religious beliefs.

Good theories are not meant to teach us what to think, but how to think.

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