35. THE IDEA RELEVAN CE MAP
* The Idea Relevance Map is a very effective and highly flexible way to establish clarity when looking at any idea.
* It is particularly useful when a product or category has many different criteria that could determine the success or failure of an idea.
* Start by selecting two important variables that could establish the relevance of the idea. For example, try margin on one axis, and customer appeal on the other.
* Plot the two axes, always placing the highest relevance to the top right.
* Place the ideas in the appropriate spot on the grid.
* Repeat the exercise several times with different combinations of criteria, until all the important ones in the market have been covered.
* Ideas that consistently appear top right (in this case with the most relevant customer appeal and high margin) are those with the most potential.
* Those consistently appearing bottom left should be discarded.
* Those hovering somewhere in the middle may still have potential, but must be examined to see what can make them migrate to the top right quadrant.
EXERCISE: Identify the most important variables that could determine the relevance of an idea in your market or category. Work out how many maps that will require. Plot them, and add the ideas. Repeat as often as necessary to establish consistent winners, or what needs to be changed to improve relevance.