The Label Trap

In our world, new product opportunities tend to get labelled quite early on.

Courses. Hubs. Masterclasses. Portals. Programmes. Tools.

And once something gets a label, it tends to get locked in. There’s a tendency to build to the container. The experience is shaped around it.

But each of those labels comes with baggage.

Expectations.

Assumptions.

All the things that start to weigh down an idea before it’s had the chance to stretch its legs. These labels often come pre-loaded with a checklist, a style, and a structure, nudging to follow a pattern rather than explore a possibility.

They tell us how something should be, rather than the change it should create.

This week, I ran a the first session of our Clarity Workshop with a new client. They initially wanted help in bringing a new online programme to life.

But as we peeled back the layers, it became clear: there was huge business potential in creating something far more flexible. More modular. More connected to the aspirations of their clients.

Instead of creating a specific programme, we now have a plan to design a digital asset that can be flexed into different uses, such as:

• A companion tool for coaching clients
• A light-touch introduction into their unique approach
• A short course for trailblazers who are already bought into the ‘why’, they just need the ‘how’
• A raft of social media assets to educate their audience (and build their brand)

Same core insights. Many new containers.

Same expertise. Radically bigger impact (on them and their audience).

The point? Avoid labelling your idea too early. Instead focus on your audience, and the change they are looking to achieve.

What’s the best way to help them overcome the hurdles in the way of this transformation?

What’s the best experience to deliver this?

Once you’ve figured out the best way to deliver it? Then give your product a label.

A challenge for you: Consider your current digital offering.

What could you repurpose right now to:

a) create a fresh brand asset?
b) deliver new value to an existing client in an adapted format?

Andy Jack

Andy loves helping subject experts, authors, speakers, coaches and key persons of influence to monetise their expertise with online learning. When not on his laptop, he'll usually be found up a mountain!