PDF Summary:Play Bigger, by Al Ramadan, Dave Peterson, et al.

In today’s competitive selling environment, it’s not enough to create a great product and hope it sells in an existing market: You have to create an entirely new market for your product. That market should show that your product isn’t merely better than its competitors but that it’s in an entirely different league. Creating a new market for your product is the only way you can become a market winner—the uncontested top dog who reaps most of the profits.

But as lucrative as designing a new market is, it’s also difficult. That’s why Al Ramadan, Dave Peterson, and Christopher Lochhead of the advisory firm Play Bigger, with the help of business writer Kevin Maney, have distilled their years of experience designing new markets into a plan that will help you determine your ideal market, define your company identity, and explode onto the marketplace. In this guide, we’ll compare the authors’ ideas to those of other marketing and sales experts, suggest actionable steps to execute their advice, and provide updates on example companies the authors mention.

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(Shortform note: If your company doesn’t currently have the resources to hire an outside firm or new employee, consider recruiting trusted friends or business associates into a casual business support group. You can meet regularly and offer each other fresh perspectives on your respective business questions.)

Part 2: Conduct research on the unmet need. The person leading the work must then gather information about the company, what it does, and the market it currently occupies. They can do this by speaking to company leaders, board members, and advisors, and by researching your industry. However, this person shouldn’t ask customers for their opinions. This is because the market you’re creating will be totally new, so customers won’t yet understand the need you’re fulfilling and will give you unhelpful feedback.

(Shortform note: In Raving Fans, Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles argue that there’s one realm of your business in which you should ask for customer feedback: customer service. The Play Bigger authors might agree that obtaining feedback on customer service is useful because you’re not inventing customer service from scratch in the same way you’re inventing a new market (unless you are inventing a novel form of customer service no one’s seen before). What’s more, Blanchard and Bowles agree with the Play Bigger authors on the need to gather information internally but add that you should also obtain information from partners like suppliers and manufacturers.)

Part 3: Hold ideation meetings with leaders. Next, the leader of this work must have a (preferably day-long) meeting with company leaders to teach them about the importance of creating a new market and brainstorm how to establish the right new market. These are the topics you should brainstorm and discuss: 1) customers you want to target, 2) the problem your product solves in the new market and its solution, 3) how you can express this problem in a way that will resonate with the customer, 4) the mindset shift your customer must make to embrace your new market and product, 5) what your new product is.

(Shortform note: The authors’ advice on how to lead an ideation meeting may seem vague. While ideation or brainstorming sessions do require creativity and fluidity, it’s equally important to bring structure to such meetings to prompt and corral the best ideas and allow everyone present to have their voice heard. To this end, consider asking participants to prepare beforehand by researching or reading documents you provide. Additionally ensure everyone attending understands the purpose of the meeting, and encourage them to ask questions if they’re confused. During the meeting, pay attention to who’s contributing a lot and call on quieter participants to add their thoughts.)

Part 4: Pick a name for the new market. During these meetings, you’ll start to identify a name for your market. Settling on a good final name may take a while, and if that final name is somewhat technical, you may need to do extra work to help customers understand it. The name should be two to three words long (for example, “low-tech tech” for your low-tech device market).

(Shortform note: Taking a note from Dale Carnegie in How to Win Friends and Influence People, you might also encourage employees to use the market name as often as possible. This is because frequent use embeds the name more firmly in employees’ and customers’ minds and also positions the market as something important and worth paying attention to—in the same way we pay more attention to what’s being said when the speaker uses our name.)

Part 5: Create a document of your work. This should include: 1) a description of the new market, 2) the market ecosystem (the third-party developers, consultants, stores, analysts, and partners with whom you’ll work in tandem), 3) the mindset shift your customer must make to embrace your new market and product, 4) the final market name, 5) the reason for the new market.

In the case of your low-tech device company, these points might be: 1) A market for people who want less invasive technology, 2) Retailers, developers, and analysts, 3) Your customers must go from thinking that more technology is better for their lives to thinking that less technology is better for their lives, 4) “Low-tech tech,” 5) Technology has negatively affected people’s mental health, and we should be using less, not more, of it.

(Shortform note: The authors recommend documenting your work during these ideation sessions, and there are powerful reasons for doing so, aside from simply being able to share that document with others. One reason is that when you don’t have to hold all your ideas and findings in your mind, you have the mental space to think more deeply and critically about them.)

Step 2: Identify and Express Your Company’s Take

The authors write that once you’ve identified and defined your new market, it’s time to craft your company’s take: an identity, guiding principles, outlook, and story about how your company solves a problem differently than other companies.

(Shortform note: When thinking about codifying your take, it’s also worth considering how outsiders would describe your current take. According to Al Ries and Jack Trout in Positioning, people outside your company usually see you differently than you see yourself. If you perceive a discrepancy between insider and outsider takes, it’s probably worth asking yourself why that’s the case and bringing these into alignment.)

A take is what consumers connect to—they can identify emotionally with your principles, story, and outlook. This is especially important when establishing a new market: You must give consumers a story and identity to hold on to; otherwise, you won’t establish your company as important and different in consumers’ minds. Importantly, this take must help change consumers’ mindsets so they embrace your new solution to the old or new problem—as we discussed earlier in this guide.

(Shortform note: You must establish an emotional connection with consumers, but there are other consumer behaviors you should also grasp to craft and express a better take. For one thing, in All Marketers Are Liars, Seth Godin writes that consumers take note of change. This means that when you show you’re different from other companies and products, consumers will pay attention to you (though they might not necessarily buy into that change). Further, consumers make assumptions about why you’re different, which means your story about how you solve a problem differently must be strong—otherwise, consumers will fill in gaps with their own assumptions.)

A strong take separates exceptional companies from merely good ones, add the authors. You can tell when a company has a strong take because you know what the company’s about, what it stands for, and how it’s different. The authors mention Whole Foods as a company that has a strong take. Whole Foods believes in providing high-quality, environmentally minded, natural, and organic products. It solves the problem of obtaining such specialty foods in a new way: by creating an inviting, fun shopping environment in which to buy them all at once.

(Shortform note: While Whole Foods may arguably still have a take, that hasn’t been enough to keep the competition at bay and maintain Whole Foods’ position as the winner of the health foods market. As early as the 1990s, other grocery store chains began entering that market by offering more natural and organic foods at more affordable prices. The result was 1) that Whole Foods began struggling financially and 2) that Whole Foods’ take (the belief in natural, sustainable products) stopped being much of a take and simply became the mainstream standard. When Amazon bought Whole Foods in 2017, it was considered a lifeline for Whole Foods.)

Here are the sub-steps the authors recommend to create your take (the same person or firm that spearheaded the market identification process should also do this):

Step 2.1: Answer Questions to Determine Your Company’s Take

These questions are: 1) How are your company and your product different from other markets and products? 2) How will you create the product? What’s your plan of action, and how will you achieve success? 3) How will you impact consumers and the world? What is your vision of the future? 4) What sort of identity do you want for your company? What’s your ideal culture? Who are your ideal employees?

(Shortform note: Answering the above questions requires you to have at least some components of your business already set up—for instance, you must have a company and product to be able to say how they differ from others. This is in accordance with the authors’ recommendation to build your company, market, and product at the same time and around each other: Your product informs your take, while in turn informs your market, and so on. This will also likely mean you’ll need to revise your take over time as you adjust the three components of your business to each other. Thus, while flexibility is almost always an advantage in the workplace, it’s a necessity in the authors’ approach to building a company and market.)

Step 2.2: Write Up and Share the Take

You’ll likely need to write multiple drafts of the take for internal review. Be brief and straightforward, and write in easily accessible language. Connect to an emotional need in the consumer—consider what future you can offer customers that they’ll want to be a part of. Think of your take as a movie trailer for your company: It must be short, informative, and generate excitement in the listener. Again, include the following elements in your take: your company identity, guiding principles, outlook, and story about how your company solves a problem differently than other companies. Once done, you should be able to present your take in 10 minutes or less in a brief document or across several slides.

Crafting a Take Using the StoryBrand Method

While the authors provide some pointers on how to write up your take, they don’t provide detailed guidance—perhaps because writing the take falls more under the umbrella of creative writing than business management.

However, there are methodologies for crafting a strong story about your company, many elements of which overlap with creating a take and can thus be used for that purpose. One methodology is marketing expert Donald Miller’s storyline, which he describes in Building a StoryBrand. In a storyline, you create a story about the customer, who has a problem, and show how your company helps them solve that problem and change for the better.

You first describe the problem your customer has—a key element of the take. You then introduce your company as the customer’s guide to creating a better life—thus capturing your outlook, guiding principles, and company identity. Finally, you describe the transformation the customer undergoes after using your product—this is akin to the mindset shift your customer will experience.

If you’re struggling to write the take, you might use the storyline as a template and then tweak it to become a true take in the way the authors describe.

Your take for your low-tech devices company might sound like this: “Our world is oversaturated with technology. It’s making us miserable, stressed, and sick (problem). We believe technology should be used to make people happier, not less happy (guiding principles) and that more of everything—apps, data, functionality—isn’t always better (outlook). We’re all about simplicity—it infuses everything we do within the company and with our products (identity). Our low-tech device is a manifestation of our beliefs: It lets you take care of critical tasks easily and on the go without making you addicted to your screen (how your company solves the problem differently).”

Step 3: Implement Your Market Design Through a Big Event

Now that you’ve identified a market and take, reveal them to the world. The best way to do this is through what the authors call a “lightning strike” and what we’ll call a Big Event.

A Big Event is an explosive occasion that introduces your company, market, and product to the world, assert the authors. This is the first step toward getting people to embrace your different (not better) approach to solving a problem. Ensure your Big Event is attention-grabbing and makes a mark in the customer’s mind—you must make a big impression to begin getting people to embrace a new market.

(Shortform note: In the book, the authors feel that only an in-person Big Event will suffice to spark enough consumer interest in your product. But could there be a way to generate massive interest in your company online? You might do so by executing a social media takeover, in which you give a social media influencer access to all your social accounts during a specific timeframe. However, to make this takeover explosive, you’ll likely need to enlist the help of an extremely popular influencer—otherwise, your message may not be heard above all the other influencer voices.)

You must communicate two main ideas in your Big Event, write the authors: first, that you understand the customer’s problem better than any other company and that you have the solution to that problem. Second, the idea that your business is the market winner—the only viable option in this market. However, as we said earlier, you won’t need to work too hard to convince customers that you’re the market winner because once they realize they have a problem, they’ll yearn for a solution—and you’re the only solution on the market.

(Shortform note: The authors recommend communicating two main ideas—that you understand the customer and that you’re the best and only option on the market—but don’t provide specific directions on how to do this. You might improve your communication of these ideas by taking some of Zig Ziglar’s suggestions in Secrets of Closing the Sale. He contends that every salesperson (and if you lead a company, you’re arguably a salesperson for it) must want to help others lead successful lives—this authenticity comes across to the customer and makes your company and product more appealing. You must also have a firm belief in your product and yourself. This confidence will transfer to the customer, who’ll feel more inclined to buy.)

A Big Event can be a take-over of an existing event (for instance, your company could set up a booth and offer test runs of your product at a baseball game) or an entirely new event (you might start a “low-tech day,” encouraging people to spend a day without technology by instead using your product).

(Shortform note: In Contagious, Jonah Berger provides reasoning for why Big Events are best executed in person: They allow for information about your product to travel through word of mouth, which is the main factor in generating popularity. You can generate word of mouth at Big Events because they’re publicly visible, allowing people to see other people using your product, and they engage your audience emotionally, which will make them want to talk about it to others.)

The entire company will need to rally behind the Big Event and operate in tandem to pull it off. Here are the tasks the authors recommend to make the Big Event a success:

Plan when you’ll hold the Big Event. After agreeing on your take, pick a date three to six months out for the Big Event. Decide whom your Big Event will target: attendees of an existing event, people who work in the business district of your city, companies in a certain industry, and so on. Once you’ve settled on a date, work backward to create a plan of action leading up to the event.

Mobilize your company. Delegate all Big Event planning to your departments, and ensure each employee knows their role in launching the Big Event.

(Shortform note: If the prospect of planning a Big Event in as few as three months seems daunting, you might follow some of David Allen’s advice in Getting Things Done on how to effectively plan a big event. First, define your purpose and the parameters of the event (to communicate that you understand the customer’s problem and that you’re the best solution). Then, decide what you want the event to look and feel like. Next, brainstorm how you can accomplish that look and feel. Only now should you organize and delegate the specific components and responsibilities to launch the event, as the authors suggest.)

Track your progress. Check if your Big Event plan is either too big or too small for the company to accomplish. Adjust your planning as necessary.

(Shortform note: What’s the best way to track progress on a project? You might ask employees to always update tasks (in a project management system), so everyone sees everyone else’s progress and can adjust their work accordingly.)

Look out for ill omens. Be wary of internal sabotagers who haven’t bought into the new market and Big Event, products that don’t deliver, and other signs of trouble. Take steps to avoid such obstacles by, for instance, firing naysayers and improving the product.

(Shortform note: Others add that beyond identifying problems, you must also act on those problems immediately. If you let them fester, they’ll only compound and become worse and harder to deal with.)

Make sure the elements of the Big Event are cohesive. Ensure everything about the event—the venue, the bar, the speakers—reflects your new market and company take.

(Shortform note: To complete this step, you might want to enlist the help of an event planner. This is because an event planner can ensure cohesiveness in look and messaging at your event—a step that otherwise might take up time better spent on bigger-picture issues.)

Step 3.5: Follow the Big Event With Continued Smaller Events and Campaigns

Once you’ve had your Big Event, follow it up with continued messaging about your market, product, and take in the form of smaller events and campaigns, advise the authors. You thereby fortify and defend your position as the market winner. The authors recommend another three to six events within six months of the last event to firmly establish your new market.

(Shortform note: In The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Al Ries and Jack Trout agree with the authors on the importance of following up the Big Event with continued smaller events and campaigns, specifically because they believe resting on its laurels can sink a company. They stress that success—for instance, after a Big Event—can cause leaders to orient their focus away from marketing efforts. This, then, can lead your brand to lose the popularity and momentum you gained as a result of the Big Event.)

These events and campaigns should contain clever and aggressive messaging that draws attention to your company and continues to show how you’re different from existing competitors and markets, claim the authors. Don’t be polite or hold back when doing this: Be bold and show how you’re new and different. Think and behave like a maverick.

For instance, after your Big Event, you might host a monthly phone-free happy hour and later partner with a researcher to write an article about how harmful technology can be to mental health.

(Shortform note: What are some specific ways to market your brand cleverly and aggressively? One good way is to stress that your company doesn’t just exist to make a profit, like most other companies: You also have humanitarian values, which might include fair treatment of employees, environmental concerns, and so on (of course, only use this tactic if you genuinely have such values).)

Part 3: Remaining the Market Winner

Now that you’ve solidified your market in customers’ minds and made yourself that market’s winner, the authors explain how to remain the long-term market winner in two steps: 1) by expanding your market or creating another new market and 2) by establishing a flywheel effect in that market.

The authors claim that you must complete the first step because e​​very company eventually reaches most customers in its market and must either create a new market or expand its current market to continue growing. Companies must do this over and over to remain market winners. For instance, you’ll eventually reach all customers who want to minimize their tech use in your low-tech devices market and might therefore expand that market to include customers who not only want to be on their phones less, but also want to use more analog products, by selling paper agendas, notepads, and so on.

Expand Your Market Quickly by Blitzscaling

In Blitzscaling, Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh agree with the authors on the need to expand your market (or scale up) to remain a long-term winner but add that you must do so as quickly as possible, referring to this as blitzscaling. They contend that because startups grow and fade away at a rapid pace, it’s better to scale quickly with an imperfect understanding of the market than to scale slowly with sound information because being late pushes you out of the competition entirely.

Hoffman and Yeh warn that blitzscaling is dangerous because if you scale too quickly, your company might not be able to keep up with demand and could fall apart. However, if you’ve followed the Play Bigger authors’ advice to build your company, market, and product simultaneously so they support each other, you likely won’t have to worry as much about your company not being able to keep pace with demand: It will be inherently designed to grow sustainably.

Then, create a flywheel in that new market because, as we’ve discussed, a flywheel composed of aligned company, market, and product makes you the market winner. Beyond aligning company, market, and product, the authors recommend pushing the flywheel forward by strengthening your company take, holding continued events and campaigns, collecting data that lets you build better products, and hiring the right talent. Your company might thus refine its take as it grows, elaborating on the problem it helps solve. You might also ask job applicants specific questions that help determine if they’re a good cultural fit.

(Shortform note: Jim Collins, who writes about flywheels in Good to Great, adds acquisitions of other companies to the list of steps you can take to push your flywheel forward. However, he contends that you should only acquire other companies once your flywheel is already spinning. If that’s the case, then we might also consider that you should only take the steps the authors list to bolster your flywheel—continued events and campaigns, collecting data, hiring the right talent, and so on—once your flywheel is already spinning. In other words, focus on the core elements of your business before turning to ancillary elements to give yourself an added boost.)