You remember the Steve Jobs video you saw where he talks about that when
he was young, he used to start with the technology and
then figure out all the great things that he could do with it.
And as he got older, he realized that the real challenge
is not starting with the technology but starting with the customer,
figuring out what kinds of compelling experience to deliver to them and then
working your way back to the technology or working his way back to the technology.
Now, why is this essential?
This is essential because technology is never enough.
It rarely lives up to its full promise.
And even when it does, the adoption of technology is full of pitfalls.
One more story, the birth of Cisco.
Sandy Lerner and Leonard Bosack were handling the systems at,
IT systems at Stanford University.
They realized that as the number of computers were growing and
using different languages, that they were not able to communicate with each other.
So they built a router that would allow machines to communicate with each other.
They decided to gauge interest among potential buyers.
And they were very glad that they did.
Why? Because the very first person they took
it to said, I have two machines, your product works on one machine, but
doesn't work on the other.
So right away they knew that they had to fix their problems so
that they could then gain access to a broader market, with the result
that no matter what machine you were working, their product would always work.
So technology is never enough.
What we are going to words is customer insights and understanding.
So first let me bust a myth.
I've been busting a lot of myths in the past several sessions, and
most people who do not like marketing research or who have a beef against
marketing research say that marketing research is not relevant.
And we ask them why.
And they say, well,
because customers can't tell us what they want in the future.
Well, guess what.
That is an incorrect understand of marketing research.
That's not what marketing research is about.
Supposing I was to ask you a different kind of question.
Supposing I was to ask you that before product development, would you,
dear entrepreneur, invest in understanding and
gaining insights about customers problems and needs.
What would you say?
I guarantee you that about 100% of you, maybe even 110%,
because some of you may raise both hands, might say yes, you know, we will invest
in understanding and getting insights about customers' problems and needs.
Well, folks, that's exactly what marketing research is all about.
It is a methodology.
It is a set of methodologies and tools that allow you to invest in understanding
and gaining insights about customers' problems and needs.
And this process of customer discovery and customer validation
is what we typically refer to as the customer development model.
And the customer development model can be related to the technology life cycle and
it comes very early.
Why? Because the earlier we understand
what a customer wants, the quicker we can develop a winning configuration
of customer value, which will then allow us to cross the chasm easily and
go from the early adopters and innovators to the mass market.