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How to Provide Exceptional Value
By Steve Brunkhorst http://www.AchieveEzine.com The primary objective of a business is to get and keep customers. Growing a profitable business requires providing exemplary customer service and products or services of exceptional value. In the...
Motivation, Quality and Individual in Third wave Companies
Second-wave companies are in the business of getting bigger. Size is their religion. Third-wave companies are more interested in finding a better way. This leads to a primary third-wave goal: to make yourself and your own products obsolete. No one...
Running Out Of TIme?
Running Out of Time? "Since time is the one immaterial object which we cannot influence--neither speed up nor slow down, add to nor diminish-- it is an imponderably valuable gift." -Maya Angelou Do you constantly feel like you are on...
The Key to the Real Estate Investing Vault
Why do so many people struggle to get going in real estate investing? Many creative real estate investors get burned out because investing just eats up their time and energy. It drains them to be constantly making cold calls, driving neighborhoods...
Why Small Businesses Fail (or Fail to Thrive)
Tammy, a skilled and gifted horticulturist, called me to discuss what she needed to know to start her own florist and landscaping business. She had been in the horticulture industry for 10 years and was incredibly skilled at working with flowers...
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DESIGNING THE RIGHT PRODUCT FOR YOUR MARKETPLACE
>From the end of World War II until the late 1970's most Americans spent the majority of their money on basic goods and services with little left for luxury type items. Giant factories turned out millions of products whose style, color and size were often determined by what made the machines work most efficiently. There wasn't much concern about what the customer really wanted.
Japanese auto producers forced reverberating changes in the way consumers went about considering their purchases. Suddenly in the mid-1970's a flood of cars hit America with features never before available at popular prices. Toyota and Honda revolutionized the concept of "user friendly" products - incorporating a high standard of quality with easy to use features, all at affordable prices.
> Today's Customer Is Smart...And Demanding
Suddenly, consumers realized that someone did take their interests into consideration when designing products. In fact, a critical element in Japanese auto production since the late 1960's has been extensive consumer research and surveying, particularly in the area of durability and reliability needs.
The customer of the 21st Century has learned from buying user friendly products such as Sony televisions, Panasonic stereos, Apple computers and Honda autos that they can be demanding and that manufacturers will respond. This has produced a new brand of customer that is educated, very aware of prices and very demanding.
She wants quality, variety, durability, excellent service and a very good price all at the same time. She has a mind of her own and will talk about her interests and needs if you ask.
The process of asking customers what they want before you design your product or service is called being "market driven" because you are guided in your product development decisions by the customer's wishes.
Today the most successful new businesses are those that ask enough questions and listen carefully to the answers.
> Understand Basic People Needs
It is sometimes frustrating trying to get honest information out of people, because they can't always express why they buy the way they do. You can bet safely, however, that their need is one of several basic motivations of all people, such as:
· Convenience · Comfort · Friendship · Security · Status · Health and
Well-Being · Savings · Love · Style · Profit
When you are trying to figure out your desired customer, put yourself in their shoes and think about what needs would motivate you to buy your product or service. There are usually two or three primary needs your product or service can satisfy and several lesser needs. When starting your product/service design, it is critical that you use your market research to focus on the primary needs and wants of your prospective customers.
> The Product Description Worksheet
As we discussed earlier, the successful new business owner first surveys potential customers to identify their wants, needs and dissatisfactions. Questions about bow often they buy, how far they would travel to buy, how much they might spend for your type of product or service are also asked.
You then separate the facts gained into groups, such as: pricing, packaging, location, assortment, etc. to organize the information in preparation for beginning a custom design of your product or service. You will make assumptions about the potential customers behavior and come to some conclusions about how you can present yourself as someone who will respond to their needs and wants.
To help you put together your product design strategy, you can use the fill-in worksheet below.
* Instructions:
1. Learn in detail 5-6 wants/needs of your target customer. 2. Add information from library research, trade associations, etc. about customer demographics, location, buying behavior, etc.. 3. Take the profile you are creating and decide what specific product/service features this leads to. Express each feature as a user benefit - you must satisfy the age-old demand of potential buyers: "What's In It For Me?"
Product/Service Description Worksheet
Customer Want/Need Product Feature User Benefit 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
About the Author
Jeff Williams worked for big business for years, until he decided to take his career in his own hands by establishing his practice as a small business trainer and coach. For those seriously considering self-employment, he is pleased to offer his free, monthly telegroup: "Are You Ready To Leave Your Job?". Register at: http://www.bizstarters.com/ready2leave.cfm Jeff may be reached at 847-593-5305 or by e-mail at: jeff@bizstarters.com
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Motivation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Article giving an overview of the concept. Includes history, information on human psychological drives, and applications in business and education. |
en.wikipedia.org |
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Motivation 123. Motivation Techniques & Tips for Your Happiness ... |
Free Motivation Kit, techniques, tips, and ideas to help you achieve greater happiness and success. |
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Motivation - the international disability charity Motivation |
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Motivation |
Goal Setting is extremely important to motivation and success. So what motivates you? Why are you in college? If you are in college because that's what your ... |
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Motivation Point. Motivation Advice for Your Achievement and Success |
Motivation techniques and advice to help you achieve greater personal success in your life. |
getmotivation.com |
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The Motivation Tool Chest |
Motivation tips on self-development, workplace, leadership, at-risk youth, education. Example: People who have a vision control their destiny and lifestyle. |
www.motivation-tools.com |
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Seven Rules of Motivation |
Set a major goal, but follow a path. The path has mini goals that goes in many directions. When you learn to succeed at mini goals, you will be motivated to ... |
www.motivation-tools.com |
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Motivation |
MOTIVATION CHECKLIST. The following checklist may prove helpful in getting at the ... If you want to improve your motivation you may want to choose a ... |
www.ucc.vt.edu |
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GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF MOTIVATION |
Basic principles of motivation exist that are applicable to learning in any ... In a general learning situation, self-motivation without rewards will not ... |
honolulu.hawaii.edu |
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TIP: Concepts |
Weiner (1990) points out that behavioral theories tended to focus on extrinsic motivation (i.e., rewards) while cognitive theories deal with intrinsic ... |
tip.psychology.org |
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Motivational Quotes, Motivational Quotations, motivation quotes ... |
Motivational Quotes, Motivational Quotations, motivation quotes, inspirational quotations from Motivating Moments. Updated 2 times a week, ... |
www.motivateus.com |
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Motivation - Atom Wiki |
Motivation. Why are you doing this? RSS is [WWW] over five years old. It was designed for news sites, a way for them to list the stories they had. ... |
www.intertwingly.net |
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Motivation & Inspiration from The Daily Motivator® |
A brief, daily message of motivation and personal development, with an archive of more than 2000 previous messages. A positive approach to successful ... |
greatday.com |
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Pages tagged with "motivation" on del.icio.us |
by blowski to folksonomy marketing internet user generated content motivation theory business blog ... saved by 124 other people ... 3 mins ago ... |
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Motivational and Inspirational Resources, Quotes, Short Stories ... |
Free daily motivational & inspirational, quotes, short stories, messages, articles, thoughts, and poems designed to help you lead a happy and healthy life. |
www.motivational-messages.com |
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Mental Help Net - Psychological Self-Tools - Online Self-Help Book ... |
Methods For Changing Your Identity and Your Motivations ... There are two types of animal motivation: the motivation to approach something, ... |
www.mentalhelp.net |
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Teambuilding Inc. Article - Team Motivation |
Probably the first question to be answered in a discussion of motivation is ... Motivation in this case was lacking because the team’s purpose was not in ... |
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Learning Skills Program - Increasing Motivation |
Motivation is a complex issue, with a number of causes and solutions -- many of which are of interest to university students, who usually know what they ... |
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