I recall reading Bill Gate’s book in the early 1990s about a device that will come to the market that you can use as a phone, a personal computer, a device to buy merchandise, and many other useful tools. And, it would be the size of a pocket book.
I could not have imagined that an iPhone would be such a big part of my life in about 15 years.
Well, another harbinger may be here in Apple’s purchase of Beat according to Owen Thomas’s article, Apple Bought Beats because Music is Dying. The article discussed Apple’s purchase of this steaming software as a growth mechanism. Beats is trying to bring back the “album-like” experience, not the soup of individual songs. Young people are not being moved by random song by song and are abandoning music as we once knew it.
This actually rang true for me yesterday when my 15 year old daughter discovered the Beatles and requested a phonograph player for her birthday so she can play our old albums. She experienced a new concept, “the Beatles album” and the various messages the Beatles were trying to bring across in one tight two-sided package.
These concepts can help any business when conducting their business strategy. Stop, trying for the home run and focus on winning the game. Regardless if you are an accountant or an artist, your customer should be feeling the message of what you are trying to get across. Here are some suggestions:
- Always put yourself in the customer’s shoes. You must be honest. What are they feeling? What attracts them to your industry? What are they missing from you and others in your industry?
- Don’t repeat history just for the sake of history. We always did it this way is not a reason to keep a product or service. The big shots in your industry may help you with their publicity.
- Discard services and products that don’t meet the customer’s needs.
- Refine your short list of services or products.
- Project your company strategy and see if these decisions match.
- Project the financial needs to implement your strategy.
When a large player in your industry predicts a change, you should take note. If you had told me thirty years ago that a coffee shop would be one of the leading “fast food” franchises, I would have laughed. Little did I know that the public had a need to hang out with good coffee.
Learning for big shots can help you aim better with yours.