Satisfying the Lifestyle and Values of Past Customers

Think about the programs and products you are currently offering.  Think about the experiences you are currently offering to your customers. 

I know you might struggle to think about what you offer as program or product.  You may even have a little righteous indignation thinking about the word customer.  But if you want your organization to matter to the next generation of customers you need to spend some time thinking this way.

Reading Design Thinking: Integrating Innovation, Customer Experience, and Brand Value I tripped across this line:

“The services that product brands provide to their current customers were designed and developed to satisfy the lifestyle and values of their past customers (p. 122, Design Thinking).”

Go back and think again about all that your organization is offering.  Got it clearly in your mind’s eye?  Now ask yourself…how much of what you’re offering is designed to appeal to the people who aren’t your customers yet?

Craig Groeschel’s insightful comment that “If you want to reach people that no one else is reaching, you’re going to have to do things that no one else is doing” is born out of this understanding.

Perpetuating the programs and products…the experiences…that were designed to appeal to today’s customers, will eventually result in a disconnect.  To the extent that you’re offering programs, products and experiences that were designed to appeal to yesterday’s customers…the disconnect has already happened.

You can pick up your copy of Design Thinking right here.