As business owners we always think we know what the customer wants. We think we know better.
And that means we create all sorts of services and products for our customers. But that is not enough. Sometimes we are prepared to devote our lives to it. Sometimes we will even try to force it down the throats of our customers.
But here’s the thing. What we think our customers want and what we give them may not be what they want and if we think differently, we would give them something else.
Henry Ford once said if he asked a customer what they wanted they would have said a faster horse. It was not until he showed them a car did they realise they wanted a car. It was the same for Steve Jobs when designing the iPhone.
And it is the same for motor vehicles generally. Experts in the motoring world (those who really know about cars) will tell you SUV’s are Satan. The chief of BMW once said that as a maker of the ultimate machine he could not understand why anyone would want to pay for an inferior product.
Motor manufacturers do not believe SUV’s are a good product. Because they are taller they are unstable. To make them stable the suspension must be firmer and the tyres more uncomfortable which also makes them slower and less efficient. They are also more expensive to buy than a traditional salon.
In other words, SUV’s are more uncomfortable, inferior, cost more to maintain and run and you pay more for them. The manufacturers know this and want to make and sell more because they make a ton of money. Guess what? SUV’s are a runaway success.
And the manufacturers are happy to continue making an inferior product ….. because that is what the market wants.
And that is sometimes what we as businesspeople need to understand. It is not about us. It is not about what we want. It is ultimately about the customer.
You see as an accountant our service really is about preparing tax returns and financial statements. It is what we do and most clients come to us not because they want to but because the need to comply with tax legislation.
But we also know that what most clients want is to create more time, more money freedom and more wealth and we try to provide that.
So have a look back at your service or product line. Is it what the customer really wants? If the customer can tell you, what would they say. And if they cannot tell you what would you create for them.
