Invent Business Opportunities No One Else Can Imagine phần 5 docx

Detect Latent Needs

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Treat complaints as an implied wish list

Complaints are a wonderful way to learn about latent needs. There are

two major kinds of complaints, those about unacceptable performance,

and those that reveal latent needs. When faced with the former, don’t probe

for deeper needs, just correct the mistake.

The second kind of complaint is very different. When customers say

in a cranky tone, “Why can’t you guys do this?” they are actually revealing

a void in service that no company seems to be addressing. This complaint

is actually a wonderful opportunity.

Take the situation of one of my clients, Federal Express. After I

explained the concept of latent needs to him, a general manager said to me,

“We’re actually hearing customers complain about having deliveries come

to their mailroom. They want to eliminate the mailroom and have all pack￾ages and letters be dropped off at their desks.”

Now Fed Ex might treat this wish as outrageous, impractical, and too

costly. But, as the manager confi ded, “What if we ignore this wish, but

one of our competitors takes it seriously, and solves the apparent logistical

problem? Where does that leave us?”

If no solution to the complainer’s problem currently exists, then the

fi rst company to devise an effective resolution is sitting on a potential

goldmine.

Replicators hear this type of complaint and dismiss it with comments

like: “I’ve never heard that before,” or, “Here’s why we can’t do that.” In

contrast, trendsetters listen and look for answers to these original requests.

One of my clients actually encourages his employees to maintain a

“why can’t you give us this” complaint log. Every quarter this implied wish

list is given to the best people in the organization to orchestrate a solu￾tion. For instance, new product complaints are circulated to R&D, market￾ing, and engineering. New service complaints are dispatched to operations.

And all complaints are sent to senior management so they gain a cumula￾tive sense of available new business opportunities. Whether senior man￾agement chooses to act on one, 10, or zero items on the complaints list

is of secondary importance. The point of this practice is to get creative

Invent Business Opportunities No One Else Can Imagine

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juices stirred up by the chance to address the implied wishes underlying

complaints.

Be alert to compromises

In a compromise, both customers and their service providers can’t

hear the whispers of discontent or the desire for improved performance

imbedded in the situation. Cab drivers don’t accept credit cards, and

passengers don’t expect them to. Airlines can’t seem to get special-meal

orders correct, so the fl ight attendants expect passengers to humbly

accept the standard offering of chicken or pasta without complaint.

Patients with appointments are left to cool their heels in waiting rooms

with no recourse because, after all, the doctor, whose time is so pre￾cious, is busy with other patients. Medical practitioners don’t even per￾ceive what a turn-off the term “waiting room” is!

Can you see the opportunity in offering solutions to customers who

routinely accept compromises? Service providers who are replicators

don’t notice a problem or don’t care enough to seek a cost-effective solu￾tion. In contrast, trendsetters are intrigued by the enormous profi t poten￾tial in being fi rst to address areas of customer compromise.

Consider the mail order catalog operator Travel Smith. My wife and

I became aware of their unique products while preparing for a trip to

Chile. We like to balance our vacation time hiking in scenic backwoods

settings, touring historic sites, and dining in upscale restaurants. But

our varied itineraries often create wardrobe dilemmas. Carrying enough

clothing to accommodate such varied activities would mean extra lug￾gage, giving the airlines that many more bags to “misplace.” But, if we

pack lightly, we face the unpleasant prospect of washing and ironing our

garments or sending them out for laundering at virtually every stop.

Travel Smith’s catalog is fi lled with a large assortment of sports coats,

shirts, slacks, and exercise attire in special fast-drying, wrinkle-resistant

fabric. Our clothing can be washed in a hotel sink, hung up to dry, and be

ready to wear the next morning without ironing. Travel Smith provides

solutions that eliminate the usual compromises of active travelers.