Adjustment to the Environment

A tool for accelerated product evolution

First published in hebrew in "Status - management thinking magazine", issue 98, August 1999.
Authors: Ari Manor, CEO, ZOOZ (former CEO of SIT), and Idit Biton, Marketing manager, SIT.

Part III 

F. The advantages of existing promises

So far we have demonstrated the thinking tool of Enivronmetal adjustment on two products: loudspeakers and a PC mouse. As mentioned earlier, this thinking tool deals with interaction with the product's environmental elements. The SIT method for product development includes other tools not discussed here, that deal with elements of the product itself, and with variables of the product and of the environment.

A unique characteristic of environmetal adjustment (compared to the other SIT thinking tools), is the fact that it is a systematic tool for identifying "existing promises". Identifying an existing promise in a product, which was never advertized before, and which is essential to the client, enables one to own the advantage related to the promise before the competition, and with no need for R&D expenses.

Orbit chewing gum gum is a classic example of the exploitation of an existing promise. The manufacturer of the chewing gum advertised the fact that Orbit helps prevent dental caries. This is supported by the following facts, which are true for every chewing gum:

• The chewing gum's environmental elements include: teeth, saliva, tongue, fingers, palate, germs.
• Chewing gum increases salivation.
• Saliva is basic by nature (as opposed to acid).
• The bacteria that cause dental caries thrive in an acidic environment.
• Therefore, chewing gum (or chewing anything, even your car tires), results in a similar chain reaction: salivation, lower mouth acidity, lower number of harmful bacteria, prevention of dental caries and protection of a person's teeth.

The manufacturer of Orbit chewing gum was the first to advertise the effect of dental caries prevention as a promise to the client, thus positioning itself as the healthiest chewing gum, having a beneficial interaction with the teeth. The results of this publicity were devastating for the competition: Orbit's sales grew by hundreds of percent almost overnight, wiping out competing products in the process. This is an impressive achievement, especially considering the fact that no money was spent on R&D, and there was no need to change the product or the manufacturing process.

How could the manufacturer of Orbit advertise a promise concerning the prevention of dental caries, when all the competing products enjoy the same advantage? The answer lies in a simple marketing principle: the first product that the consumer's mind relates to a specific trait (e.g. prevents dental caries), has a tremendous advantage over competing products. Any attempts by the competition to imitate the product will, in most cases, fail since it is very difficult to convince clients to shift a successful product already "locked" in their minds on a certain trait. In other words, it is very difficult (and expensive) to penetrate a space in the mind which is already taken up by another product.

G. Conclusion 
To conclude, this article discussed Adjustment to the Environment, which enables one to find new (a loudspeaker that is dog-friendly), and existing (chewing gum that prevents dental caries) benefits concerning the product's interaction with its environment. ZOOZ holds workshop for New Product Development using this and other tools, for dozens of firms. Other articles on these tools may be found here.

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This article was written by:
Ari Manor, CEO, ZOOZ. Former CEO, SIT.
Idit Biton, Marketing Manager, SIT.