Customer Discovery

Graham & Maryclare

Procter & Gamble

Still going strong since 1837

With revenues worth over $80 billion annually

So how does a company of this size stay so disruptive?

Soon after they’re hired, new employees of P&G undergo special cultural training. “They spend a week in a low-income neighbourhood, working in a bodega, a little shop, He [the executive] puts an apron on. He works there. He talks to the shop owner. He talks to the people who come in. He becomes part of life.”

What Did P&G find?

Example 1:
People cleaning floors would typically sweep up dust and then mop in a laborious 2-step process.

Recognizing this led them to the development of the Swiffer, which replaces the two-step process with a single step. This led to $100mm in sales in 1999 and annual sales of ~$500mm.

What Did P&G find?

Example 2:
Tide detergent was irritating people’s skin in India because 80% of people wash their clothes by hand.

P&G developed Tide Naturals in 2009 which cleaned well without causing irritation, leading to significantly increased market share.

What do you do about it?

You can build great intuition around target group behavior if you’re willing to embed yourself in your target demographic’s day-to-day life. 

Source: https://medium.com/@kavinstewart