More on the Customer

Clearly, the idea of marketing research "on the cheap" has its limitations. You can't go that path when you're looking to get volumetrics, price elasticity, or information that's projectable to the broad population - but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the early steps, the "indications" that your product meets a need.

Two decades ago I was managing a product line for which our understanding of the customer was less than we needed it to be. Unable to access funds for a major research project (which would have been premature anyway) I looked for ways to access my customer cheaply. As it turned out, my target, advanced amateur photographers, could often be found at weekend camera club events and competitions. For the price of breakfast (for 20 people) and a plane ticket or gasoline, a colleague and I were able to hold focus groups at these events and gather a wealth of information about our customer that we were able to use to improve our product and gain market share.

In another case, a group I was working with was able to find a sample of their customers within a five hour drive. Within a week they were able to get enough customer insight to significantly redirect their program (the customer pointed them to a key benefit of their concept that they had dismissed as having little value) and put the project on track. All for under $2000 out of pocket!

Again, let me be clear - this is not for when you really need to zero in on things like volumes, price, etc., and it's clearly not "the last word" in customer needs. It is, however, a great way to inform the early stages of product development with the voice of the customer so that you can head toward a set of benefits that customer will value. It can be a good way of learning about the customer's world - what's lacking, and what they need.

And sometimes, that's a lot more than you might otherwise have.

More to come...

What Customer?

As I have been working with companies - startups and larger firms, I continue to be amazed at how often the company lacks a decent understanding of its customers and/or its competition. It's hard for me to imagine that companies elect to operate in this way, particularly when "first order" information is relatively easy to gather.

Recently, I was discussing the need for customer understanding with people from a firm that supplies the construction industry. As I often hear, tight budgets and the consequent lack of funds available for market research was cited as the reason why the company was "guessing" about what its customers' needed and wanted. My reaction was swift. "Are there construction sites that fit your target market within a short drive? How about driving up to one, introducing yourself, and asking "Can I watch you work?""

Now clearly, there are many potential issues with such an approach and a bit more may be involved if, for example, your product was used in the surgical theater of large hospitals, but that misses the point. The point is - in the absence of significant funds or the ability to make a large commitment to market research, what can we do to advance our understanding of the customer?

Sometimes it seems like we only consider the 100% solution, where often, as Pareto stated, we can get 80% of what we need through the 20% solution.

More on customers and competition in future postings...