Question: Why must organizations ignore their existing products and assets?
Answer: Because organizations become biased in their belief that the customer wants what we currently have....only because that is what we currently have.
Although the above answer doesn't appear to make any sense, this is precisely what many organizations do. It is actually quite common for organizations to look internally at their own existing products and services and believe that it is what the customer prefers. Many companies assume that what they can produce, is precisely what the customer is willing to accept. This is a HUGE mistake. In order to excel in any product or service delivery, businesses and service organizations must retrain their thinking to always be looking outward to determine what is of value to their customers, not what is of value to the company. "Value" really then becomes what the customer is willing to pay for - at a specific price and at a specific time. It is a moving and constantly changing target, that demands staying in close touch with your customer by constantly collecting customer feedback. There are many tools available to help organizations accomplish this goal, such as:
- Voice of the customer (VOC) trees
- Critical to quality (CTQ) trees
- Kano analysis
- Market research via interviews, surveys, and focus groups
After all, there is no point in being exceptional in developing and bringing a product or service to the market that no customer really wants or is willing to pay for!
