Today’s Innovation Minute…
In the first video I introduced the FAST Innovation model: Focus, Ask, Shift, Test
Then I introduced the 5 D’s of Differentiation.
Today I discuss the 4th D of Differentiation – Desirable.
Be sure to watch the previous videos!
Transcription:
In the previous videos, I talked about why you innovate where you differentiate and I introduced the five D’s of differentiation. Today, I want to talk about the fourth D, which is about being desirable. And I want to do this through an example.
I used to live in Boston, would go down to Atlantic City. I love Atlantic City. I think it’s a great, fun place.
In 2012, they built a casino called The Revel. The Revel casino, built in 2012 for $2.5 billion. It is a spectacular casino. I’ve been there. Sophisticated, classy, high-end. There’s only one problem, the people who go to Atlantic City aren’t. The people who go to Atlantic City go to the beach with their kids, they eat cotton candy and hotdogs. Maybe they’ll play nickel slots, but probably not the ideal place for a sophisticated, high-end casino.
The Revel was built for $2.5 billion in 2012 and in 2014, it went bankrupt. It shut its doors, and as of this video it is still closed and it’s questionable whether or not it will ever open.
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Being different is not the same as being differentiated.
At the end of the day, your customers will determine your differentiator. You don’t get to determine it, they do. And if what you offer is not desirable, it’s not a differentiator, it’s just something that’s costing you a lot of money.