The most common definition of business suggests it is the “organized effort of individuals to produce and sell, for a profit, the goods and services that satisfy society’s needs” (Pride, Hughes, & Kapoor, 2013). In a manufacturing-driven society, this definition might be valid. Yet, it arguably emphasizes an outward-in approach to product and service development and, in doing so, has potentially set a generation or more entrepreneurs off on the wrong foot. So many entrepreneurs believe that the “thing”—the product or service—they have created will “satisfy society’s needs” without considering what society needs, values, and expects. The focus on the thing poses one of the most significant long-term barriers to success for entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs devote too much time and energy to the perfect execution of the product or service at the outset. In fact, many entrepreneurs invest—maybe even over-invest—in the thing before they understand if there’s an actual market for the thing. Not long ago, I spoke with an entrepreneur who had an idea for a new technology product and a pool of funds to develop the product. He was searching for a developer to help get this product off the ground but had not thoroughly researched the market opportunity for what he was about to create. Moreover, he had done little more than cursory research on his target customer. His focus was on product execution rather than customer understanding. Unfortunately, this approach is all too common with startup entrepreneurs. A good product or service that meets a customer’s desires will be far better than a great product or service that misses that mark.
Steve Jobs once said, “Customers don’t know what they want until we have shown them” (Isaacson, 2011). To Jobs’ point, when new ideas for products and services are solicited from customers, those ideas tend to mirror competitive products in the marketplace or be derivations of products or services already available (Furnham, 2000). However, this should not suggest that knowledge of the target customer and customer input is without value. In fact, one might argue that Jobs and his team developed their products based on a clear understanding of their target customer’s needs, values, and expectations. Apple’s customers, for example, have come to expect the most innovative products of the highest quality that enable a short learning curve, efficient use, and support simultaneous engagement with other products (Hyungu, 2013). Apple’s focus on delivering products to that target customer and then taking care of them with committed customer service elicits profound loyalty to the company and its products.
Customers are the only thing that matters to a business. Regardless of the product or service offered, there is no business if there are no customers. It is surprising how many entrepreneurs start their business with an idea of a product or service and a detailed plan for the execution of that offering without a clear understanding of the customer. The customer’s needs, values, and expectations are never thoroughly researched, and the thing, as developed, misses the mark with the intended audience.
All of this is not to say that the thing—the product or service—is not essential. It is. However, a product or service is only relevant in the context of the customer’s needs, values, and expectations. A product and service placed at the center of the business, particularly in today’s business environment, may work in the near term but is not sustainable. The customer must be at the center of the enterprise for a business to have long-term success.
Perhaps a more appropriate definition of a business for our current environment might be “the organized effort of individuals to satisfy society’s needs, by producing and selling goods and services, for a profit.” Changing this definition might encourage entrepreneurs to focus first on the customer and make product execution and delivery the second step in the business development process. Putting the prospective customer first might well make all the difference between the success and failure of the next entrepreneurial venture.
What do you think? Should customer needs, values, and expectations trump sheltered product development?
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References
Furnham, A. (2000). The Brainstorming Myth. Business Strategy Review, 11(4), 21-28.
Hyungu, K. (2013, September). To Be A True Industry Leader: Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corporation in Consumer. Leadership & Organizational Management Journal, 2013(3), 114-130.
Isaacson, W. (2011). Steve Jobs. New York, NY, USA: Simon & Schuster.
Pride, W., Hughes, R., & Kapoor, J. (2013). Business (12th ed.). Cengage Learning.
