When traditional strategies falter, business leaders often search for radical innovation or cost-cutting measures. But Jack Truong, who has successfully revitalized multiple corporations throughout his career, follows a different playbook—one centered on identifying and filling market gaps that competitors have overlooked.
From Laboratory Innovations to Leadership Transformations
Jack Truong began his career not in management but in research and development. With a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, he joined 3M’s R&D team where he quickly distinguished himself by approaching product development with a unique perspective.
“I was exposed to various divisions in my first two years at 3M, and I really had to learn and understand what the unmet needs were in those industries, and come up with inventions that deliver innovative solutions for those particular sectors,” Truong explained in an interview with Construction Today.
This focus on identifying and solving unaddressed problems led to remarkable achievements. During his time at 3M, Truong developed 11 patents and played crucial roles in creating products that would become household staples, including the Scotch-Brite microfiber cloth.
One of his most notable accomplishments involved reimagining a product many considered obsolete in the digital age—the humble Post-it Note. By recognizing that consumers still needed visual reminders but in more versatile applications, Truong helped transform what could have been a declining product line into a revitalized brand with enduring relevance.
Rejecting Resignation When Markets Seem Mature
When Truong transitioned to executive leadership at Electrolux in 2011, he encountered a corporate climate that had essentially surrendered to market limitations.
“Back in 2011, when I joined, [Electrolux] was about a $4.2 billion business,” he recalled in an interview with CEO Magazine. “The company saw North America as a mature market and didn’t expect any growth. In fact, when I took over, the company wasn’t growing and profit was declining.”
Truong immediately challenged this defeatist mindset, memorably asserting: “There’s no such thing as a mature market, there’s only mature business managers.”
Rather than accepting the prevailing narrative, he conducted thorough market research to identify gaps that competitors had left unfilled. While industry rivals like Samsung and LG focused on technological features, Truong discovered many consumers actually prioritized aesthetic design, reliability, and simplicity.
“We put more focus on the design to make our products eye-catching, beautiful, and easy to use,” he explained. This strategic pivot enabled Electrolux to carve out a distinct market position that resonated with underserved customer segments, ultimately elevating the brand from third to second place in North America and doubling its valuation.
What Consumers Truly Need Versus What Technology Can Do
Throughout his career, Truong has maintained a clear-eyed view of the relationship between technology and consumer needs. He cautions against the common fallacy of equating technological sophistication with market viability.
His analysis of Google Glass exemplifies this principle. “Google failed to understand the true unmet needs of its consumers when the company first launched its ‘moonshot’ Google Glass in 2014,” Truong observed. “Despite the ‘smart’ glasses’ cutting-edge technology, the product was discontinued after just one year. Despite its live map imaging and hands-free web navigation, Google botched its assessment of the product’s marketability — opting for a ‘clunky’ shape, overcomplicated features, and an overwrought price tag ($1,500).”
For Truong, this illustrates a fundamental business truth: even groundbreaking technology fails if it doesn’t align with genuine consumer needs or creates problems (price barriers, usability issues) that outweigh its benefits.
The Observational Advantage Watching Consumer Behavior
A distinguishing characteristic of Truong’s approach is his emphasis on observing what consumers do rather than simply asking what they want—a methodology that has repeatedly uncovered market opportunities others have missed.
“Creativity costs money and innovation drives value,” he notes. “Listen carefully to what consumers don’t say, and observe closely what they do. Only then do your innovations have the potential to change consumer behavior and create true value and demand.”
This insight acknowledges the limitations of traditional market research methods like focus groups or surveys, which often fail to capture the gap between what people say they want and how they actually behave in real-world situations.
Market Evolution Demands Constant Vigilance
In today’s rapidly changing business environment, Truong’s gap-focused strategy has become even more relevant. He warns against organizational inertia, even during periods of apparent success.
“As technology advances and consumer demand evolves, companies and products quickly can be left behind,” Truong cautions. “Too many organizations are focused on developing, launching, and loading new technologies and features to existing products while ignoring the possibility of new solutions that actually make life easy for consumers.”
This perspective offers a valuable alternative to reactive business strategies or chasing trends without understanding underlying consumer needs. By systematically identifying unaddressed market gaps, companies can create enduring value propositions that withstand shifting market conditions.
Three Questions That Drive Market Gap Analysis
For business leaders looking to apply Truong’s approach, three fundamental questions can guide the process:
- What frustrations or limitations do consumers experience with existing products that they may have come to accept as inevitable?
- Which consumer needs are competitors overlooking in their race to add features or reduce costs?
- What organizational strengths can your company leverage to address these gaps in ways competitors cannot easily replicate?
By answering these questions through rigorous observation and analysis, companies can identify opportunities for meaningful differentiation even in seemingly saturated markets.
The success of this methodology is evident in Truong’s track record across multiple industries and companies. Where others saw declining prospects, he consistently found untapped potential by recognizing that consumer frustration represents not a dead end but a roadmap to market opportunity.