In what situations is it worth using lateral marketing. Lateral thinking: how to learn to think outside the box? Best regards, Alexander Fadeev

Current page: 1 (the book has 11 pages in total) [available passage for reading: 3 pages]

Philip Kotler, Fernando de Bes

Lateral marketing: a technology for finding revolutionary ideas

Edward de Bono

and to all the geniuses of creativity.

Philip Kotler

The three main women of my life:

my mother Toje,

to my wife Maria del Mar

and my daughter Blanca.

Fernando Trias de Bes

Editor M. Sukhanova

Project Manager M. Shalunova

Technical editor N. Lisitsyna

Corrector E. Aksenova

Computer layout M. Potashkin, Yu. Yusupova

© Philip Kotler and Fernando Trias de Bes, 2003

© Edition in Russian, translation, design. LLC "Alpina Publisher", 2010

All rights reserved. No part of an electronic copy of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including posting on the Internet and corporate networks, for private and public use without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Introduction

These days, the percentage of new products that are doomed to fail on the market has grown tremendously. Even 20 years ago, the picture was more favorable. Why has it become so difficult for new products to make their way?

Let's try to consider the range of options available today and draw conclusions.

For example, in the category of breakfast cereals, there are dozens of subcategories and varieties, addressed to different groups of consumers. Special cereal flakes are produced for those who monitor their weight, and for those who need fiber to improve digestion; for those who like the taste of fruits, chocolate, honey, and for those who are interested in the shape of the product (flakes, stars, rings, etc.). In principle, could there be a type of cereal not yet represented among this multitude of proposals?

More than fifty different yoghurts compete with each other in the dairy product category on store shelves. We will find here plain and vanilla yoghurts, with pureed fruit and with pieces of fruit, low-fat and completely fat-free, as well as mousses. Is a further increase in diversity conceivable?

There are several dozen TV channels operating in any developed country, although only ten years ago their number rarely exceeded three or four. Is there any room for growth in this market?

Of ten sales promotion promotions, only one leads to an increase in demand by more than 5%, whereas a few years ago it was the minimum reached for almost any promotion. Why?

Marketing today is far from being the same as marketing in the 1960s or 1970s. There are products on the market to satisfy almost any need. Demand is not just saturated - it is satiated.

In most developed markets, the strategic foundations of marketing (i.e. segmentation, targeting and positioning) are beginning to lose their effectiveness as mechanisms for creating competitive advantage that could be developed into business expansion opportunities and new products.

Companies can segment the market further using ever more subtle differences, but the end result of this process is such small markets that it is not profitable to serve them. The need for a fundamentally new approach to creating meaningful market offers is emerging more and more clearly. We've reached a turning point where marketing needs a radical overhaul of the idea generation system.

Recently, we have seen the emergence of business concepts, developed not through endless vertical segmentation - the technique of yesterday, but in the course of some other creative process.

How did the concept of a cereal bar that you can eat in the morning instead of a cereal with milk come about?

What creative process led to the idea of ​​setting up supermarkets at petrol stations?

How did you come up with a frozen pizza that could replace fresh pizza delivered to your home?

What train of thought was the invented chocolate with a toy inside?

What system was used to generate the idea for a yogurt that a working woman can put in her purse and eat in the office in the morning?

The most successful marketing ideas are based on a paradigm that is not limited to simply defining your market, and then segmenting it endlessly or changing product positioning. Real breakthroughs start in lateral thinking and based on it lateral marketing.

The purpose of this book is to define the basic concepts and formulate the theory of lateral marketing, the opposite of vertical marketing. Edward de Bono, an internationally renowned expert on creative thinking, recommends lateral (nonconventional) thinking as the ideal way to generate new ideas. We believe that now, when classical marketing thinking is no longer as successful as it used to be, it is very important for companies to develop non-standard approaches to solving marketing problems.

We are not talking about abandoning classic marketing, not at all. Existing marketing theories continue to play a critical role. Our task is to offer a broader view of the possibilities of marketing thinking, which allows us to go beyond the strictly sequential logical procedure on which modern marketing is based.

Adopting lateral thinking as an additional platform for discovering new marketing ideas will allow you to generate ideas entirely on your own, and not in response to the wishes of consumers expressed directly by them or gleaned by researchers from survey data. These new ideas will help the company better cope with growing product uniformity and the issue of hyper-competition.

Evolution of markets and development of competition

The last decades of the twentieth century. were successful for most companies in developed countries. This was facilitated by political stability, steady demographic growth and an increase in life expectancy. Improvement of marketing mechanisms also played a significant role here. Marketing departments could spend large sums of money developing and launching new products, educating and informing consumers to convince them to test purchases, repeat purchases, and build brand loyalty.

But at the beginning of the XXI century. it has become more difficult to achieve success. Why? Below we will look at the main reasons for this.

1.1. Concentration in the field of distribution of consumer goods

In the 1950s. in the USA and Europe, the distribution of consumer goods was carried out mainly by small independent firms. Today, as a result of the emergence of innovative distributors such as Wal-Mart or Ikea, as well as mergers and acquisitions, the business is increasingly concentrated in the hands of giant corporations, many of which are international. Hyper- and supermarket chains control over 80% of food retail. Another significant share of the food market belongs to large franchise catering chains - McDonald's, KFC, Subway, Domino's Pizza. A similar picture is observed in all industries.

Thus, power has shifted from manufacturers to distributors. The distributor manages the shelf space and decides which manufacturers to partner with and how much space to allocate to each. He charges distribution fees, commissions, and effectively imposes on the producers the terms of sale and promotions he needs.

Distributors respond to change by concentrating their businesses. Distribution channels are concentrated in the hands of a relatively small number of companies with tremendous power.

1.2. Reducing the number of competitors while significantly increasing the number of brands

Many manufacturers have not been able to withstand the onslaught of the retail giants and have either disappeared or been swallowed up by the sharks of their industry. Although manufacturing firms as a result became significantly smaller, they continued to introduce new brands to the market, and in increasing numbers. Table 1.1 shows the growth in the number of registered brands in the three countries between 1975 and 2000.

Table 1.1. Registered brands in USA, UK and Germany from 1975 to 2000

The increase in the number of brands is due to three factors:

1. The need to adapt products to the specific needs of certain segments (consumer groups) and even niches (small groups), arising from segmentation strategies.

2. Reducing vulnerability. The more brands a company has, the more difficult it is for competitors to attack it. It is much harder to beat many brands at once than just one dominant in a given category. In addition, the atomization of the market prevents new competitors from entering them.

3. A large portfolio of brands strengthens the manufacturer's position in negotiations with a distributor. The high discount offered on one brand is offset by the low discount on the other.

Multinational companies and corporations are gaining strength. There are fewer players and more brands.

1.3. Shorter product lifecycle

The time on the market for new products has been significantly reduced. Why?

First, it is now easier for companies to bring new brands to the market, especially if they have unused production facilities. They can change ingredients, additives, functions, design or packaging of a product with minimal changes to the manufacturing process, planning to recoup all development costs in the first year of sales and hoping that the product will remain profitable for several more years.

Second, the willingness of consumers to try new brands that they see advertised is growing. They can easily ditch the old brand for a new one that they like better. But, disillusioned with this new brand, they just as easily give up on it.

Third, the situation in consumer markets is similar to an arms race. Each new brand takes away sales from the existing ones. Companies whose brands are affected are forced to launch new brands as well, since they have no other way to restore their position. In response to this, other competitors will release even newer products, and so on through the cycle.

In hypermarkets, new brands are taking up more shelf space, and the result is a fierce battle. Manufacturers are moving from brand management to category management to make better use of their limited space.

Introducing new brands to the market is getting cheaper. The speed at which new brands are emerging is currently increasing and the lifetimes of new products on the market are shrinking.

1.4. Cheaper to replace than to fix

Durable goods don't last as long as they used to. If a device breaks down, it is usually easier to replace it with a newer model than to fix it. Consider the following examples.

A new laser printer costs approximately $ 180 and can be delivered within one day. It will cost you almost $ 120 to repair an existing printer and will take about two weeks. Does it make sense to repair the old printer, especially since it can break down again?

A new electric shaver costs less than $ 60 and you pick it up immediately after purchase. To fix an old razor, you will have to pay about $ 100 and wait two to three weeks. Any workshop will recommend buying a new razor.

It is often cheaper, faster and easier to buy a new product than to repair an old one. As a result, a culture has emerged in which durable goods are viewed as disposable. If, for example, earlier video recorders and televisions served for 7–8 years, now they are changed every 2–3 years. Because of this, among other things, the feverish release of new products is intensifying.

The manufacturing process is so efficient that replacing a product becomes cheaper than repairing it. This spurs the release of new products.

1.5. The digital revolution

Today everything can be translated to ones and zeros: images, sounds, voice, text and data. Everything is reproducible. True, we do not yet know how to digitize smell and taste, but this, apparently, is only a matter of time.

Digital technologies have led to the emergence of a whole range of new products: computers, interactive TVs, PDAs, digital phones, smart dishwashers, microwave ovens, toasters, etc. Technology extends to the simplest goods: books are released with sound, and dolls sing on two dozen melodies. Satellite positioning systems have allowed the creation of a number of new services, such as the search for stolen vehicles, missing people and animals.

Finally, there is the Internet, which provides virtually free contacts for millions of people with each other. The Internet revolution in the fields of information, consumption and communication continues; we are only at the initial stage of it.

The digital era has made it possible to create a range of new products and services. The development of technology increases the rate of innovation and the number of new products. The Internet is fueling the emergence of new brands and forms of business.

1.6. Growth in the number of trademarks and patents

More and more new products are being created to replace products that have been on the market for a very short time. As technology improves, new products are further upgraded. During the 1990s. the number of annual applications to the US Patent and Trademark Office has almost doubled. It becomes difficult to register a five letter (or shorter) product name since most of these letter combinations are already taken.

The rise in the number of patents and trademarks has led to increased competition in the markets.

1.7. Increased diversity within product categories

Go to the supermarket and write down the names of all the yoghurts you can buy there, categorizing them by taste and packaging. You will probably have over 50 varieties of yoghurt on your list: plain, sweet, vanilla, fruit chunks, different flavors, low fat, low fat, yoghurt mousses, etc.

Look in any automotive magazine and count how many different types (variants) of cars and brands are mentioned there: station wagons, minivans, SUVs, small cars, diesel and non-diesel, three-, four- and five-door, with different engine power. More than 450 car models and brands are currently on sale in Spain.

Browse the Yellow Pages and brochures on adult education in your city and list all types of hobbyist courses. If a few years ago, mainly courses were offered in European languages, drawing, dance, music and some sports, today there are also rarer varieties - Tai Chi, acupuncture, Japanese and Arabic, and much more.

1.8. Hyperfragmentation of markets

In pursuit of differentiation, companies are continually identifying and creating new segments and niches, leading to high market fragmentation. The logical conclusion of this process is seen as a market with fully individualized products and marketing, which are unique to each individual consumer. It has become very difficult for companies to find market segments that allow them to expect a high return on investment. The release of each new product only slightly increases profits; there is no tangible increase in profit. Profits are "smeared" over the market in a thinner and thinner layer.

Markets are split into smaller niches that are less profitable.

1.9. Saturation and fragmentation of advertising distribution channels

The average resident of a large city receives about 2,000 advertisements and information messages daily, of which only a few linger in the memory until the end of the day. Once the most effective mechanism for building a brand and promoting new products, advertising is threatened by its own development: the more there is, the less attention it gets.

Today, it is not easy for a brand manager launching a new brand of chocolate to communicate this event so that the information is taken into account by potential buyers. More recently, he could have expected that after showing advertisements on a limited number of TV channels, which were watched by the majority of the population, several million people would decide to try the chocolate. Now those who are able to be interested in the proposal can watch any of a hundred TV channels, listen to any of two hundred radio stations, read any of a thousand magazines. In addition, many TV viewers have the habit of switching to another channel during commercial breaks, and some do not watch TV at all - they sit at the computer or go somewhere to do sports or have fun. The media habits of today's audiences are very diverse, and in order to convey their message to them, companies must use multiple media and distribution channels at once. This can lead to excessive advertising costs.

1.10. Reducing the impact on consumer consciousness

From what was said in the previous section, it’s clear how little chance advertisers have of getting a place in the minds of consumers. It feels like "mission impossible."

Consumers have become incredibly picky about both products and their advertisements. They ignore the bulk of advertising, not counting that they are missing something important. They learned to look and not see, listen and not hear.

Go to the doctor's office and watch someone, waiting in line, look at a magazine. Although such a reader may have seen more than four dozen advertisements along the way, he / she clearly reads only a few of them. It takes half a second to skip an ad.

The problem for the advertiser lies not only in the huge number of competing products, brands and advertisements, but also in the fundamental closedness of consumers' minds for commercial communications. A brand that does not have novelty or special qualities will be ignored. To overcome this attitude, companies advertise their products with claims that they are “new,” “improved,” “new tasting,” “more natural,” and so on. These are all attempts to attract the attention of consumers by “breaking through »Saturation of consciousness with the help of novelty.

Consumers have become finicky. They increasingly ignore commercial communications. Maybe the only way to get their attention is through novelty.

Conclusion: the competition in the markets has increased significantly.

Marketing today is more complex than ever. This does not mean that there were no problems before, just that the problems are completely different today. The challenge now lies in coping with the excessive fragmentation, saturation, and the storm of new products entering the markets every day (see Figure 1.1).

Rice. 1.1. Problems of modern marketing

These thoughts lead us to an obvious and direct conclusion: if (1) innovation and new products form the basis of competitive strategy, and (2) only a small fraction of new products achieve success, shouldn't it be a priority to find ways to create and release more successful products? In fact, this is one of the main tasks lateral marketing.

We'll start with the idea of ​​a new product. The process of its origin will be analyzed in the second chapter.

Summary

Innovation is the key and foundation of modern competitive strategies. New products are introduced to the market with extraordinary rapidity, but a significant proportion of attempts fail. To survive, it is absolutely essential to understand the modern innovation process. To do this, we will break down the marketing process into its components, analyze it and determine what kind of novelty it can provide.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Traditional Marketing Thinking

Below we take a quick look at the basics of traditional marketing thinking and highlight its strengths and weaknesses in today's environment. This will allow us to further understand how lateral marketing differs from traditional marketing, and to learn how to apply simultaneously both complementary ways of thinking.

The second creative marketing technology - lateral marketing - is creation of new products outside the existing market and product category on the principles of the implementation of lateral shifts in the sequential chain of logical thinking in the process of creating an idea about a new product.

Lateral thinking belongs to the category of non-standard problem solving. A number of universal techniques of lateral thinking, which make it possible to overcome stereotypical problem solving, were developed by E. de Bono. Logical, or vertical, as E. de Bono called it, thinking is built on a multitude of cliché elements - standard elements borrowed from other projects. Lateral thinking is directly related to intuition and creativity. And if the correctness of each step is a necessary condition for logical thinking, then with lateral there is no special need for this. Lateral thinking does not seek to generate doubt for the sake of doubt, but emphasizes the need to transform stable images, renewing them. The main task is to show that various ways of performing a particular function are possible. In this sense, group work on a project is useful, since then the existence of alternative options becomes more evident.

E. de Bono proposes the following options for avoiding clichés:

• 1) "cropping" and dismemberment of cliché elements, i.e. removal of everything unnecessary and irrelevant;
• 2) abstraction and extraction - the selection and extraction of the most essential part from the cliché element (the opposite operation to the previous one);
• 3) combining - combining cliché elements from several sources, as a result of which a new element is obtained that has not been encountered anywhere before.

Combination can be expressed as a simple addition of some kind of functional unit or multiplication of functions, which can be considered a cliché element. Functions differ in that they are descriptions of the purpose of objects in an ongoing process. Abstracting a function can help you find different ways to do it or change your attitude towards it.

E. de Bono called these different ways of working with cliché elements "the basis of any information processing system."

The result lateral marketing is usually creation of new product categories and markets.

Table 6.6 provides a comparative characteristic of classical (traditional) and lateral marketing.

Distinctive features

Table 6.6

In its most general form, the lateral method of creating new products can be described as follows: a product is taken and completely transformed to meet a new need or a new consumption situation, not previously considered for this product.

What is the lateral marketing technology proposed by F. Kotler and F.T. de Bezome?

Here's how they identified the following main stages of lateral marketing:

• 1) the choice of the focus in relation to which the lateral shift will be carried out;
• 2) provoking lateral displacement to generate rupture;
• 3) thinking about ways to connect the gap.

As noted above (see Table 6.6), the initial stage of creating an idea about a product is the choice of a product as an object of attention, and this again violates the logic of classical marketing creativity. The focus in a product can be any of its components (any component of the product marketing mix). The object of lateral shift (focus) can be, for example, any characteristic of a product or any component of sales policy, promotion policy, etc.

Lateral shift is a non-standard form of thinking. For example, when performing a focus shift "fabric - material to cover", you need to imagine the situation "fabric - material not to cover". Or another example: “material to be covered is created by weaving threads” is transformed into “material not created by weaving threads”, but by looping. In this case, by the way of negation, as a result, we get a new related product category - knitted fabric. Perhaps, this is exactly how the creation of new technologies of textile production (non-woven, knitted) went in due time, and new ones will be born in the future. Proposals to create material using looping or glue technology is the third stage of lateral marketing - thinking about ways to bridge the gap that has occurred as a result of the substitution of the denial particle. How can you provoke out-of-the-box thinking, i.e. to form a break in the logical circuit? For this, F. Kotler proposes the following six methods:

• 1) replacement - situations of consumption of goods, composition of raw materials, production technology, terms of payment, terms of sale and promotion of goods, etc .;
• 2) inversion - changing the meaning by turning it over or rearranging words in the purpose of the product, the conditions for its acquisition and consumption, etc .;
• 3) an association- consumers, goods, distribution channels, etc .;
• 4) hyperbolization - exaggeration or understatement of utility, consumption, after-sales service, etc .;
• 5) an exception - utility, one or more elements of a product, means of communication, etc .;
• 6) reorganization - changing the sequence of elements of utility, goods, means of communication.

When using any of the above methods for creating lateral shifts, a prerequisite that must be met is gap presence in the chain of logical judgments, i.e. distortion, change of meaning. Otherwise, the policy of innovation will be carried out in the area of ​​existing product categories and markets.

The main directions of possible changes in the commodity policy of enterprises in this case will be as follows:

• 1) change in need - an attempt to provide for another usefulness of the product;
• 2) change of purpose - the choice of those consumers who were not a potential target market for a product or service;
• 3) change of time - selection of new moments of purchase, use or consumption, to which the company's offer can be adjusted;
• 4) a change of location means a change in the point of purchase, area of ​​use or consumption where the product or service is not currently being used;
• 5) changing circumstances means proposing events and activities where the product has not been considered previously;
• 6) change in the type of activity or work experience.

Let's give an example. Changing circumstances: the application of holiday symbols to textiles made it possible to offer them as souvenirs. Change of purpose: Potential buyers of textile materials use them as covering or insulation materials. Appealing not to the target audience - designers changed the need, provided for a new usefulness of textile materials - their use for decorating premises and gave rise to a new product category - textiles for the interior.

Changes at the market level can lead to changes at the product level. Product inversion example: Replacing “just made pizza” with “not just made pizza” led to the idea of ​​frozen pizza, which created additional markets for pizza makers. An example of reorganization: first purchase (payment for goods), then incentives through a system of discounts (accumulative discount cards). An example of exaggeration of packaging: 50-liter bottles of water gave rise to the idea of ​​using them as fountains of water, equipped with taps and placed on stands in the middle of offices, etc.

The ideas of lateral shifts can sometimes seem meaningless, but they are thought-provoking and must be worked out. Non-standard, originality of the solution is especially welcome with this approach, since it is they that allow you to create a new category of goods and markets.

In the modern world, marketing plays an incredibly important role in absolutely all spheres of life and activity. Competition in any market is very high, so every entrepreneur has to think about how exactly to present his product so that there is demand for it. Nowadays, you can't just come up with something, put it on the market and enjoy high sales. It is necessary to fight for the market, and it is not so easy to do it. However, an interesting fact is that most people use vertical marketing, which operates within the same market, one target audience. This article will focus on lateral marketing, which is the complete opposite of vertical marketing. Naturally, it will also talk about the book of one of the world's most famous marketers, Philip Kotler, who wrote in detail about exactly how a marketing specialist should act if he wants to correctly promote a product. Lateral marketing is a great way to promote a product or service, which, however, requires a high level of creative thinking.

What it is?

The first thing people want to know about is what is lateral marketing. If we take this term in general, then it can be defined as a system of promotion methods that are aimed at effectively combating competition. In fact, the essence of this approach is thinking outside the box, looking at the problem from a completely different angle, in order to understand exactly how to advertise a product or service in order to distinguish itself from competitors. The methods used in this type of marketing, in most cases, are not only unconventional, but even unique. That is why not every marketer is able to just give up vertical marketing and go to lateral. However, if you want to be ahead of everyone and succeed, you will have to step out of your comfort zone and do your best. Rest assured that lateral marketing is something worth spending your time and energy on.

Origin of the concept

Marketing and advertising are areas where creative thinking is needed. However, it can have very different levels, which is why there are different types of marketing. If we talk about lateral marketing, then it is worth starting directly with the term itself. What it is? How did this concept come about? As many are well aware, lateral is a word that has its roots in Latin. Latus in Latin means "side" - accordingly, lateral is lateral. But what is the connection with the type of marketing? The fact is that this type of marketing is based on a non-standard and creative approach. Accordingly, the field itself is much more creative, even in such a creative industry as marketing.

The classic approach

Of course, the definition of the concept has an important role, but it will not be enough to understand the full depth of this approach. Marketing and advertising are an integral part of the production of any product or the provision of any service. Without them, no one will simply know about your activities. Accordingly, the essence of marketing is to promote goods and services to the market so that more people learn about them and, accordingly, more and more people want to purchase a product or service. Vertical marketing operates on the principle of segmentation - a specific market with a specific target audience is selected for a product, then it is segmented according to a suitable principle, and its own line of activity is drawn for each segment. This is a classic approach in marketing - and it is also rather limited, as it sets clear boundaries, the limits of where you can operate.

A New Look

Lateral marketing, in turn, offers to look at the situation from a different angle: not to limit activities to a specific market, divided into segments, but to act in different directions, connecting creative thinking. The purpose of such marketing is to provide a product or service in a new context through an unusual sales method, original communication with the target audience, and identifying the demand that cannot be taken into account when using a vertical approach.

Kotler's book

Philip Kotler is one of the most famous and successful marketers of our time. His highest achievement is the book "Fundamentals of Marketing", which in the advertising field is considered a real Bible. However, this is far from the only book written by this specialist - another work is more suitable for the topic of this article - "Lateral Marketing: Technology for Searching for Revolutionary Ideas". It is in this book that this approach to advertising is described in detail - what it is, and most importantly, what is needed to use it. What's more, the second theme gets even more attention - the book talks about creative thinking in marketing, unconventional approaches and creative views. If you want to be a great marketer, then this book is a must read. Yes, Marketing Fundamentals is the marketer's Bible, but times are changing rapidly, so it's important to keep your finger on the pulse at all times. And Kotler's Lateral Marketing is one of the latest and most relevant books on this topic.

First block

Philip Kotler divided the book into three thematic blocks. Each of them will be described separately in the article. Also, you should immediately pay attention to the fact that this book was written in collaboration with another lesser-known marketer - Fernando Trias de Bes helped Kotler with writing, but in many cases he is not even mentioned as a co-author. So, the first block is a kind of introduction that tells about how the modern world has changed and what impact this has on marketing. In the framework of these observations, the traditional vertical model appears to be ineffective in modern conditions. The author criticizes those marketers who propose to continue to use only vertical marketing, lead and engage exclusively in positioning.

Second block

The second block introduces lateral marketing to the world - the book is literally filled with "cases", that is, practical examples of various life situations. In this case, these situations belong to the field of marketing and cannot in any way be solved using the traditional approach. However, the author demonstrates how easy they can be solved if you use an unconventional approach, which he himself calls lateral marketing. Kotler sees lateral marketing not as an independent movement, but as an addition to traditional vertical marketing - the new direction should eliminate all the shortcomings that the vertical approach has in its modern form.

The vast majority of people think in stereotypes. There is nothing wrong with that, because they were taught this from childhood. However, there are individuals who have a special, non-standard thinking, thanks to which they achieve success in life. In psychology, such thinking is called lateral. Let's take a closer look at it and see if it can be developed.

The term "lateral" (lateralis) translated from Latin means "lateral", "displaced". Thus, lateral thinking is the ability to think non-linearly, outside the box. With this type of mental activity, a person uses those approaches to the problem being solved that logical thinking usually ignores.

Thanks to a non-standard approach, a person gets the opportunity to find a creative solution to an issue or come up with a fundamentally new idea. Many inventions and discoveries in various fields of science and life belong to people with unconventional thinking.

Lateral thinking has a lot in common with divergent thinking. Psychologists distinguish two styles of thinking - convergent and divergent. Convergent thinking works in a linear way - a person analyzes and builds a sequential chain of facts, coming to one specific conclusion.

Divergent does not move in one direction, but in many directions, and uses creativity in order to find new ways to solve a problem. People with divergent thinking are able to think creatively and outside the box, which significantly increases their mental capabilities.

The concept of lateral thinking became known through the psychologist Edward de Bono. It was he who proposed simple but effective techniques to help you learn to think outside the box.

Edward de Bono and his concept

Edward de Bono (1033) - British psychologist, M.D., specialist in psychology, physiology and creative thinking. He is the author of many popular books on the topic of thinking, in which he proposed special techniques that allow anyone to develop the ability to think in new ways.

The most famous of these books: "Water Logic", "Beauty of the Mind", "Serious Creative Thinking", "Courses for the Development of Thinking", "Lateral Thinking", "Teach Yourself to Think", "The Birth of a New Idea", "Six Thinking Hats" , "Six figures of thinking", "Beauty of the mind", "Why are we so stupid?", "Brilliant!"

Dr. Bono strove to create a new information system that has the ability to self-organize. Modeling such a system, he came up with the concept of a pattern, which is widely known in psychology, sociology and other related fields. A pattern is a kind of sample, template, cliché. A pattern is a structure that combines the variability and constancy of various processes and stimuli. The scientist studied patterns and looked for methods to restructure them.

He developed exercises for the development of lateral thinking, allowing to perceive any tasks facing a person not as difficulties, but as interesting puzzles.

Lateral Thinking Process

Marketer Philip Kotler studied the methods proposed by Edward de Bono, and proposed an adapted methodology that allows you to abstract from the usual logical thinking. The technique consists of three steps:

1. Select focus. First of all, you need to choose a specific idea and focus on it. This idea will serve as a starting point. It is impossible to create something new without it. It is necessary to constantly think about the problem, analyze it from different angles.
2. Break the pattern. Now it is necessary to break the logic of the idea formulated at the first stage, thereby breaking the usual thinking pattern. This will be a shift, a deviation from generally accepted standards. The resulting judgment may seem strange or absurd. This is normal, at this stage of the work it should be.
3. Establish a logical connection. Now the illogical or even absurd judgment obtained at the second stage needs to be rationalized. This step is the most difficult and requires a lot of effort, but it is thanks to it that you can get something fundamentally new. The third stage of the operation is the most creative and important.

Thanks to this technique, new creative ideas and concepts can be created, which will subsequently be implemented.

Lateral thinking techniques

Let us examine the methods of lateral thinking proposed by Edward de Bono.

Method 1. Six Thinking Hats

The brainstorming method is familiar to many. In theory, this is a very effective method, but in practice it often gives unsatisfactory results. This happens when brainstorming is not done correctly. The mistake is that one group member comes up with ideas, and the other discards them without any analysis. As a result, the discussion reaches a dead end, and the problem remains unresolved.

To eliminate such a mistake and avoid losing a valuable idea, it is necessary to use the Six Thinking Hats technique. Each hat has its own color and characteristics. By changing their hats, the participants in the discussion change the direction of their thoughts. Changing hats allows you to look at the problem from different angles.

To implement the method in practice, you will need six multi-colored hats or other items that will symbolize the hats. Each hat represents a specific perspective from which the problem being solved is viewed.

• White- informational: what we have at the moment, what we are missing now, various facts, figures, all kinds of information related to the problem being solved.
• Red- emotional: any feelings and emotions related to the problem being solved, intuition tips, premonitions.
• Green- creative: generating new ideas and proposals, searching for non-standard solutions.
• Black- critical: doubts, difficulties associated with the implementation of the proposed idea, the search for shortcomings and shortcomings.
• Yellow- optimistic: considering the advantages of the discussed idea, the benefits that it can bring, the positive aspects of its implementation.
• Blue- organizational: the leader's hat, who brings together everything that was achieved as a result of the discussion, carefully records all the proposed ideas that may be useful.

Each participant in the discussion can wear any hat and express their thoughts in accordance with the direction given by the color of the hat.

Method 2. Synectic assault

Synectics is a combination in the process of solving a problem of elements of various kinds, sometimes not even combining with each other. Dr. Bono argued that the application of this technique helps to destroy existing stereotypes of thinking and look at the problem with a new perspective. To implement the method, it is necessary to draw several analogies:

• Straight: to think in what way people most often solve such problems.
• Personal: imagine yourself in the place of the subject, faced with the task, try to look at it through his eyes (this can be a client, buyer, user).
• Generalizing: briefly, literally in a nutshell, describe the problem.
• Symbolic: to dream up and imagine what approach to the problem would be applied by a real historical or fictional character.

The use of this technique activates creative thinking, helps to break away from stereotypes and come up with an unconventional solution to the problem.

Method 3. Random word

This technique can be used during a brainstorming session when the discussion reaches a dead end and the participants in the discussion no longer have new ideas. In this case, you need to ask each member of the group to name some random word that came to mind. Now you need to try to connect this word with the problem being solved.

In the process of looking for a connection, new thoughts will begin to be born, which will again intensify the discussion and push on fresh ideas and solutions. The technique is convenient to use in cases where it is not clear where to start solving the problem. It can be used not only in a group discussion, but also alone.

Method 4. Going beyond

As you know, any project has time, financial and resource limitations. Often, these restrictions interfere with the successful implementation of the plan. Removing them is not always possible, but nothing prevents you from trying to imagine what ideas can be realized if these restrictions are removed. A mind that is not limited by boundaries is capable of generating very interesting ideas.

How to develop lateral thinking?

The ability to think outside the box and creatively can be developed. Edward de Bono in his books offers many effective ways. The scientist recommends:

• always and in everything to look for new ideas;
• do not get hung up on stereotypes and clichés that people use to solve everyday problems;
• question any ideas;
• try to generalize different alternatives and solutions;
• think over not only complex tasks, but also simple ones;
• often solve various tasks for lateral thinking and puzzles;
• look for non-standard ways to use old, out of order things;
• be creative in everyday activities;
• enjoy the very process of thinking and finding solutions.

Non-linear thinking develops most easily in children. Their minds are not yet clogged with templates, they trust their intuition, they are not afraid to seem ridiculous, inventing and expressing all sorts of absurd, from the point of view of adults, things. All these are good prerequisites for the development of lateral thinking.

The ability to think outside the box, combine traditional approaches to solving problems with non-traditional ones, allows you to find and implement fundamentally new ideas in professional and daily activities.

Lateral marketing- search for marketing solutions using non-standard methods. “This is when you think not along, but across,” says F. Kotler. The term "lateral thinking" was proposed by the famous researcher of the phenomenon of creativity Edward de Bono, as opposed to "vertical", or logical thinking. It is about finding a solution using non-standard methods. “It is impossible to dig a hole in another place, if only to deepen the existing one. Vertical thinking is necessary to deepen the existing hole. With the help of the lateral, the hole is dug in a new place, ”says Edward de Bono. His ideas were developed by Philip Kotler and F. Trias de Bez in the book "New Marketing Technologies". They offer to solve marketing problems by looking at them from the outside, and there is a certain provocation here.

Lateral marketing is an activity aimed at the formation of non-standard, creative approaches in the development and optimization of marketing business processes and the development of new products. Lateral marketing approaches are based on the ideas of lateral and divergent thinking and are designed to search for new ideas not by waiting for inspiration, but through the use of special technologies.

Divergent thinking(from Lat. (vergere - to diverge) is a method of creative thinking, usually used to solve problems and problems. It consists in finding many solutions to the same problem.

Lateral thinking(lateral thinking) - a method of non-standard approach and problem solving. The term itself was proposed in the late 1960s. Edward de Bono, now one of the world's most respected experts in the field of creativity, "guru" of management and marketing.

Lateral marketing technology is about finding a connection between two different concepts. Let's say you can take a flower and focus on one of its qualities - "the flower withers." And then carry out a lateral shift of this quality, i.e. put forward some provocative idea - flowers do not fade. A discrepancy has formed, a logical gap, and now it needs to be eliminated. In what situations does a flower never wither? If it is made of fabric or plastic. Solution found: artificial flowers.

The goals of lateral marketing are:

• identification of new needs that the product can satisfy if it is modified;
• expansion of existing market segments by changing the characteristics and attributes of the product;
• identification of additional needs from existing consumers;
• analysis and identification of additional situations of using the product during its modification;
• generating ideas for modifying products based on an existing product;
• analysis of substitute goods for an attack on an existing product.

“Innovation is the result of the interconnection of two ideas that, in principle, do not have an explicit and direct connection,” write Kotler and Trias de Bez. The domestic reader will see something familiar here. At least a lot of similarities we know from the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ), known since Soviet times, primarily from the publications of G.S. Altshuller (pseudonym - Heinrich Altov, 1926-1998). However, TRIZ was definitely not applied to the market at that time. there was no market itself.

The novelty of lateral marketing lies precisely in the fact that it creatively solves marketing problems, implements an innovative approach in relation to the elements of the 4P marketing complex. The company must first choose a focus and define what exactly it wants to change in its product. Usually, the choice of the area for focusing efforts falls on one of three levels: at the level of the market, product, or the rest of the marketing complex (s). Lateral marketing at the product level involves changing something in a product or service, making it non-standard and finding how to take advantage of it.

The method of lateral marketing is that a stereotyped standard idea is taken as a basis and all kinds of attempts are made to transform it creatively. First you need to choose what exactly you would like to change or improve in the product and focus on this. In this case, changes will be made not in a vertical order, but in a horizontal one. Lateral marketing involves interrupting the logical flow of thought and looking for a non-standard solution - the so-called "lateral shift".

There are several ways to come up with such non-standard options. The lateral marketing scheme, according to F. Kotler and F. Trias de Bez, is as follows.

STEP 0. Select a product or service.

STEP 1. Choose one of the levels of the vertical marketing process:

• market level;
• product level;
• the rest of the marketing mix.

STEP 2. Perform a lateral shift.

Market level. Change one aspect:

• need or utility;
• purpose;
• place;
• time;
• the situation;
• experience.

Item level. Apply one of six methods to a product item (tangible product, packaging, brand attributes, usage, or purchase):

• replacement;
• an exception;
• an association;
• reorganization;
• hyperbolization;
• inversion.

The rest of the marketing mix. Apply the new commercial formula for other categories:

• pricing formula;
• communication formula;
• spreading formula.

STEP 3. Connect the “gap” using the “scoring method”:

• Introduce the buying process;
• identify positive points;
• determine the possible environment for the actual use of the product or service.

Lateral marketing has been criticized for the following disadvantages:

• consumer fatigue from;
• the novelty of the product no longer arouses the former interest;
• fragmentation of market niches;
• it is necessary to create convincing semantic systems, not product innovations;
• you cannot be taught to think creatively or according to a scheme.

However, lateral marketing can become the best helpers in overcoming the crisis, since existing marketing technologies become ineffective in a highly competitive environment, and customers expect non-standard solutions from manufacturers. The marketing activity of the 21st century is a constant search for revolutionary ideas. The novelty of lateral marketing is realized in an innovative approach to traditional elements. This approach is, albeit a more risky, but also a more promising way of creating a new product or service in conditions when there is an intense competition in the market with a decrease in the interest of the target consumer.