If you are selling to a business, who do you listen to when your direct customer (business) tells you to do something?
- Always think about the end-user/ their customer.s If the end-user doesn’t buy, your customer will be struck with stocks (assume you are selling physical goods). And they might blame you in the end. Remember, it is all about “sell-out”, not “sell-in”!
- Don’t rely only on your customer’s specifications. Do your own research, and if the results tell otherwise, discuss it with your customer. Experience tells me that customer love it, and they will admire you more than ever when you successfully persuade them to change their own idea! (on the condition it actually helps them sell!)
- Think beyond your customer’s needs. Think about who your customers’ customer will be. Who are the potential end-users? What can end-users do with your customers’ product (i.e. your product)?
And what about a bleeding-edge industry (e.g. VR) where no one knows the future?
- It is more like future business co-development. Treat them the same as your shareholder, your future might depend on them.
- Manage expectation. I realized this is the most important part between success and failure. Because for most bleeding edge technology (if not all), consumers over-expected! And you will disappoint them. Worse still, they spread the negative perception!
- And your customer might, and rightfully, blame you because your technology failed their customers!
- This a triple lost situation that must be avoided at all costs!
- For all bleeding-edge technology, find your right audience/ end-user with the right expectation. For example, if you are developing an interaction model, and if it is ONLY good enough for casual gaming, by all means, pursue them. But don’t try to market it to the army!
- There are too many products with great potential, launched in failure due to unmanaged expectations, or marketed to the wrong audience!