What is Takes to Change the Game

“Customers will tell us what they want. If we just ask them.” I hear this a lot.

While data on customer preferences and insight is absolutely critical, if you want to lead a market, you must blaze a trail that anticipates what customers will want in the future.

And, in my experience, none of your current customers are going to give you the blueprint to your future.

You will have to innovate, to imagine, and to create a roadmap that anticipates what new products and experiences your customer will want! This requires executive vision, commitment, and investment - bold moves to secure a future competitive advantage. It also requires a culture that champions looking ahead and implementing new ideas…. that all other companies will then try to copy.

Henry Ford nailed it. When your customers say they just want faster horses, you must have the bold vision to create something beyond anything they could ever dream of. And then that changes the entire market forever.

Today, customer experiences fall directly into this paradigm.

Many companies are just trying to deliver faster horses or a better slide rule. Others are ripping up the traditional innovate-by-increment playbook entirely and delivering new products, services and experiences beyond their customer’s wildest expectations.

These folks, like Henry Ford, are the game changers.