Tuned In: Uncover the Extraordinary Opportunities That Lead to Business Breakthroughs |  | Authors: Craig Stull, Phil Myers, David Meerman Scott
Publisher: Wiley
List Price: $27.95
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Rating:  27 reviews
Sales Rank: 38008
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 224
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6.1 x 1
ISBN: 047026036X
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.409
EAN: 9780470260364
ASIN: 047026036X
Publication Date: June 30, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
If you market a product, service, or idea in any business, industry or organization, you must read Tuned In: Uncover the Extraordinary Opportunities That Lead to Business Breakthroughs, a guide to understanding and meeting the needs of consumers, whether or not they make those needs clear. An easy-to-follow six-step process developed over the past 15 years can help you address unsolved problems, recognize buyer personas, quantify impact and create breakthrough experiences. Stop wasting time by guessing what your market needs and start understanding consumer desire.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 27
 Are You Tuned In? October 6, 2009
John R. Sedivy (Cape Cod, MA)
"Tuned In" describes the concept of resonators - products so in tune with the needs of the potential buyer that they sell themselves. The authors provide examples of resonators, how to go about achieving resonator status for your product or service, and even provide an example process for accomplishing this. I found the concept of the resonator worthwhile and similar in scope to achieving "viral" status. My only caution is the area which focuses on process. The outlined process should be considered as a guideline or starting point and not a guarantee of success. Great read for those involved in product development or anyone who owns a business.
 Thinking like your prospect July 6, 2009
L. Trachtman (Woodbridge, CT and Saratoga Springs, NY)
Despite our years' of experience, we sometimes lose sight of why we develop products and services. If you think the primary purpose is to make money, you probably already are heading in a direction from which the authors of Tuned In would like to redirect you. If instead your business is focused on listening the market (existing customers, potential customers, and non-customers) and hearing about what they need, then according to Stull, Myers and Scott - you are Tuned In.
The idea of being market driven is not new or unique. What Tuned In does however, is provide us with a set of pragmatic actions that when followed, will direct you towards solutions that are: urgent, pervasive, and for which people are willing to pay money. The process and helpful hints contained in Tuned In are insightful. One in particular: Building a prototype and showing it to prospects WITHOUT describing its benefits, sounded particularly intriguing. Letting the prospect tell you what THEY think it's good for, sounds so simple, but is universally far from what most marketeers do.
Then once you've got your idea developed, the book goes on to prescribe refreshing messaging strategies that go well beyond most traditional marcom.
Tuned In is a great "how to" guide for turning the product development process on its head and worth the time for even the most experienced entrepreneur.
How to find out what problems people need solving March 22, 2009
Meryl K. Evans (Plano, TX)
Why did Apple Newton fail while iPod succeeded? "Tuned in." The company didn't tune in when it created Newton. The iPod was a different story. In promoted "1000 songs in your pocket," Apple solved several problems: giving people a way to carry their songs in something small, making it easy to get songs from computer to iPod and creating a product that is easy to use.
Not all stories in "Tuned In: Uncover the Extraordinary Opportunities That Lead to Business Breakthroughs" come from big and innovative companies like Apple. In fact, the book tells about a tuned in magician (one-person business), niche camera (not a well-known brand), and a company's newsletter.
Many companies fail to ask prospects what problems they need solving. Instead, they create a problem and a solution that they think people need. An excellent example comes from Magnavox. Did the company think people needed more features on their TV sets?
No. Instead, Magnavox talked to customers asking them about the problems they had with their TVs. Sometimes customers don't know that answer and the tuned in company must help them figure it out. Through this process, Magnavox stumbled on a problem we all have (including my own household) -- we lose our remotes on a regular basis.
So what does the company do? It added a button on its TV sets that locates the remote. This feature should become a standard for ALL TV-related products that come with a remote.
Some employees think talking to friends and family helps them tune in. It doesn't. They can't always be target customer for a company's products and services. Here's where knowing customers enters the picture. When a company knows its customers well enough, it knows where to find them and interview them to tune in.
The book could use more examples especially of one-person or very small business stories like the magician who found his niche. The start of the book captivates, but then it drags by the middle as it falls in the trap of what some business books tend to do and starts spending too much time on its framework. The examples draws the reader in more than anything else.
For the most part, "Tuned In: Uncover the Extraordinary Opportunities That Lead to Business Breakthroughs" is a fast and breezy read offering valuable insight into the six-step process for tuning in by using real-life examples.
The market-driven primer for management March 6, 2009
S. Johnson (Gainesville, VA United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I talk to product managers every week and they always ask "How do I convince my management?" If your management team doesn't understand the role of the market in making product decisions, get Tuned In. Many companies rely on development ideas or sales people's deals, or they listen to one big customer and assume that they've listened to the market. Being 'tuned in' to the market means building a product that resonates with buyers, focusing on a market full of customers and not just the one.
The book introduces a six step process to create a product that sells itself. Based on 15 years of industry experience and research, Tuned In shows executive teams the steps to product success.
Before reading, I was "Tuned Out" January 23, 2009
Cory Lamle (Phoenix AZ)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
BOOK IN CONTEXT
The cumulative biography of all the authors is very impressive. With several books each, they have a combined library of around 10 published books. Which for this particular niche is very good. All authors have spent most of their lives working with marketing in one what or another and have bios that tout, "they are the real deal". They have in essence seen what works and what does not. The majority of there other books are all highly rated books 4-5 stars on most sites. Compared with the competition including themselves the book stacks up nicely.
BRIEF SUMMARY
This book focuses on 'Tuning In' to your customers. The authors lay out a 6-step process for tuning in, very detailed yet written in plain English all readers will understand -
1. Find unresolved problems
2. Understand buyer personas
3. Quantify the impact
4. Create breakthrough experiences
5. Articulate powerful ideas
6. Establish authentic connections
The book is full of several examples of why something like Apples Newton was a flop and why the Nano was a success. The key concept is does your company/product 'resonate' with your customer. Do you focus on your customers problems or your companies problems? The resounding answers is to focus on your customer in the correct manner and the cash will follow.
MY REACTIONS
Personally I'm pretty new to marketing, so for me the book was definitely a 5 star. Almost all the concepts where new to me, and really made me stop and think. Their are many revelations as to why so many companies/products fail, and they all really hit home. I'm sure that a marketing guru may already know some of these concepts because they work in that specialized field, however I'm sure that many products that have failed throughout history had big salaried CEO level marketing managers who could learn a few things from this book. There are a few points where the book gets a bit dry, but it's not for very long. The examples and stories are sure to entertain, educate and inspire.
CONCLUSION
Buy this book! The book does more than just put to bed the saying of "The customer is always first" it gives real meaning to the saying and at the same time exposes how that saying is more complex than 5 simple words. "If it's so easy to understand and it makes so much sense, why don't more companies get tuned it?" Is the real question this book answers and is the question you should consider when reading it.
Cory Lamle
Editor
FindingFreedom.com
Showing reviews 1-5 of 27
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