What People Want

A lot of people don't understand that marketing isn't just about selling a product. Marketing, at its best, is about selling a product that people want.

One of the bigger mistakes a company can make is to fall so love with its product that it forgets - or fails to find out - what people are willing to buy. Take the company that continues to put bells and whistles into a product after customers have told them they'd prefer not to pay for an advanced product that's more expensive than the competition. You'd hear they liked the product but the other one was cheaper and did the job they needed to be done. When it came to a purchasing decision, they didn't want the bells and whistles.

Here's another example. I was on the marketing committee of my local parochial school. The goal was to increase enrollment. We did a good job of getting people to send their children to the school but overall enrollment numbers continued to decline. People were removing their children from the school after a few years. We looked at what our competition was and what parents wanted. Unfortunately, the school administration was not willing to listen and make changes. The principal actually said to a parent "this school isn't for everyone". Well, who is it for? Sadly, the school will be closed for good this month.

As salepeople and marketers we need to make sure that we aren't so immersed in what we see people as wanting, that we forget to discover what they'll actually pay for.