In the now famous Harvard Business Review Article, Production Line Approach to Service, Theodore Levitt outlines an example of an ice cream manufacturer making key, critical assumptions that not only were erroneous but could have served as a fatal blow for a once prospering organization.

The manufacturer was based out of Boston and due to the limitations on storage space, the firm was forced to coordinate more frequent deliveries to their supermarket/retail partners, which wasn’t ideal for their operation, logistically speaking.

Conversely, the manufacturer basked in it’s ability to provide a low-cost, high-quality product and demand was never an issue.

Upon further internal discussion, a decision was made to relocate facilities about 60 miles outside of the Boston Metro in an attempt to eliminate the only perceived weakness in their business model and drastically simplify the logistical challenges they believed to be providing limitations on their bandwidth.

Sounds like a surefire win on paper, right?

Savvy business logic would certainly check out on paper and even the most astute Advisory Board would be prone to pull the trigger on such an initiative.

Furthermore, the same low-cost, high-quality product would still be the centerpiece of their value proposition to clients and the move may even drive down costs even further with the simplified logistics and far less demanding delivery schedule.

Appropriations were made, facilities, resources and families were relocated and optimism was at an all time high.

End of story?

Not quite.

Months into the transition, their loyal supermarket clients started to seek out alternate manufacturers.

You see, the product wasn’t the central focus of value for the client.

The frequent and quick deliveries were.

Having the shelves stocked and the ability to order and receive same-day deliveries was the differentiator and that major oversight ended up costing them their most valuable strategic advantage!

So, what’s the lesson and how can we all avoid similar pitfalls in our own business efforts?

It’s never about what a company makes but rather what a customer buys that we need to focus on. 

And the only way we can do that is by understanding them and their needs at a deeper level.

But herein lies the more complex problem.

Often times, the client either expects you to already know their needs or the relationship is as such you’re never even given the opportunity of discovery until after the fact, particularly if it’s an initial sales pitch and not an ongoing, established working relationship.

So, what’s the true cost of not knowing your customers?

It’s just as much the lifeblood of your operation as the executives and employees that keep the wheel churning. 

Marketing and market research tend to take a backseat on the priority totem pole.

But let’s dive into two of the major reasons behind that to establish a why:

Companies are conditioned due to immediate company needs or perceived results.

When a salesperson lands a new account, an immediate, positive stimuli is provided as a sign the organization is making progress.

A new hire is made or a role is filled that was left void by a departing team member? Again, an immediate reinforcement that what we’re doing is not only of utmost importance but also serving dividends and moving the firm forward.

But, what happens when there’s no customers to sell to or there’s no money to hire a new team member because the organization isn’t generating enough opportunities or gaining enough understanding of their target audience to reach them on a meaningful level and get them to want your product or service?

The business can only continue to move when enough inertia is placed upon it to put into motion. The symbolic metaphor I like to utilize is that of one of those old school water wheels.

Every major function in the business represents the wheel or surrounding structure to hold it in proper place. Without it, you are dealing with total disarray and a business that can’t deliver on it’s value proportions.

The water represents your inbound opportunities via marketing channels.

Often times, businesses hyper-focus on internal functions but fail to recognize the dam is currently flowing to other outlets!

Build a business without understanding your market and it’s entirely possible you’ve built your water wheel in an area that hasn’t seen rain in years!

I joke, obviously…but a fair example that was given to me as a friendly reminder to always pay attention to the harmonious and symbiotic relationship you want to create and maintain in your business.

The second, and often times more applicable reason organizations struggle to continue moving forward with marketing and market research initiatives is they truly don’t know if the money they’re spending is worth it or even have a tangible way to measure it!

We usually see this with emerging companies.

Growth requires cash but what got them “here” won’t get them “there.” In other words, early traction or right timing allowed them to establish a recognizable brand but many times it wasn’t largely developed for long-term sustainability by not keeping a proper eye on understanding their market.

Think fad products that have disappeared just a quickly as they popped onto the scene.

Was that newfound success not enough to build a reputable and long-standing household brand?

With the right resources, understanding of their audience and ability to truly understand what made the product such a hit this pattern of success very well could have been replicated but instead many of these are here and gone tomorrow.

And that leads me to why I’m so excited about the work we do at nürltec.

Not only can we tap into the human brain and body to detect signs that were only seen in sci-fi films a few short years ago but we do so at a cost that is far exceeded by traditional (and less accurate) outlets!

Why and how?

The question we receive the most and I’ll break down as simply as possible.

Guessing, as educated as it may be, takes more attempts to derive patterns and meaningful data. Thus, costing you money.

But technology, much like everything else, has made this transactional dynamic far more efficient.

What’s more is that it’s not just arriving at data but the quality of it is far superior.

In this day and age, why would you pay more for less when you can pay less for more?

To learn more about the tools we use and how they can radically transform your marketing efforts and understanding of your customers, visit here or let us know below you’d like to learn more with our free consultation!