Читать книгу The Obvious: Everything You Need to Know to Succeed - James Dale - Страница 26

Look at the marketplace and you can tell who’s been listening to the solutions within the problems and who hasn’t.

Target heard Wal-Mart customers saying they liked the prices, not the style, or lack thereof. So Target signed up designers like Michael Graves (home appliances and kitchenware), Isaac Mizrahi (fashion and furniture), Mossimo (beach and casualwear), and Thomas O’Brien (vintage/modern combinations for home décor).

Car rental companies heard travelers say, when the plane lands, they want to get in a car and go, not stand in line, fill out forms, show their license, swipe their credit card, accept or decline insurance, fill up or return empty, etc, etc. So they created Number One Clubs, Preferreds, and Emerald Aisles to preregister data, so members can get off the plane, get in a car and … go! They even pay extra to belong, which shows that listening pays.

Cable companies still don’t hear. Customers can’t wait at home between 8 and 12 or 1 and 5 for an installer who may or may not show up.

Online universities heard the problem and the solution. Lots of students can’t go to an ivy-covered institution paid for by mom and dad. Some have to work, raise families, or take care of a parent. They get online degrees without leaving home or the office.

Banks used to only see customers during “bankers’ hours.” Then they found they could handle more customers with ATMs and online banking, 24/7, for less than keeping the branches staffed even a few hours a day. Cable companies, take note.

Most newspapers still haven’t heard. They sit unread on front porches and in vending boxes, barely changing format or content, creating virtually no synergy between their paper and online versions, while the world turns to CNN, Bloomberg, C-Span, The Daily Show, satellite radio, MSN, dotcoms, and blogs.

Consumers honked through heavy traffic until we got HOV lanes and EZ Passes, complained about unsanitary bathrooms until we got automatic flushes, demanded and got free wireless internet thanks to Starbucks and others. Now we want parking meters that don’t need exact change, humans instead of phone prompts, and cars that don’t dent … in case someone is listening.

Listen. You will look brilliant when all you’re doing is giving people what they’re asking for.