The other day I received an e-mail promotion where the person was talking about being \u201cgood enough.\u201d\u00a0 They shared that they had to replace their old food processor, and the new one had all sorts of features that they did not use and that it was very hard to clean.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t enjoy using it, which was quite frequently, and in a couple of months it had broken.\u00a0 They then went out and bought a different machine that only had \u201cchop,\u201d \u201cblend,\u201d and \u201cpulse\u201d as features and it was simple to take apart and clean, and it is very durable, allowing it to work consistently on a daily basis over many, many months.\u00a0 To top it off, it was even less expensive than the fancy machine that only lasted three months.\u00a0 As they shared this story they said that they loved the second machine and that it was \u201cgood enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
I have also heard several others talk about this concept of \u201cgood enough\u201d in regard to a variety of products, including the revolution of the new video cameras that are simply point, shoot, and upload the video to the internet.\u00a0 Again, they talk about the simplicity of these products as being \u201cgood enough\u201d because they cost less and do less.<\/p>\n
I would disagree with their assessment.\u00a0 I do not see these products as being inferior and just barely satisfying the customer\u2019s needs.\u00a0 After all, that is what \u201cgood enough\u201d really means; just barely satisfactory.\u00a0 Often just barely satisfactory products are made of inferior components that do not last for a very long time.\u00a0 But that is not the case of the food processor or the video cameras.\u00a0 They are well made and perform very well. For millions of people, these products aren\u2019t simply \u201cgood enough\u201d but are meeting the needs of the customer extremely well.\u00a0 For the situations in which these products were created, they are the best solutions to meet the customer\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n
I think we need to be careful when we start confusing inferior products and services with those products and services that meet our needs extremely well just because those latter products might cost less, have less features, or only do one or two things.\u00a0 It usually takes a lot of thought and preparation to provide our customers with the things that are just what they are looking for so that we can delight them.\u00a0 Rarely does it just happen because we are cutting costs by using inferior materials or by providing less features.<\/p>\n
For example, the manufacturer of the food processor would need to know what speeds that their customers usually use (chop, blend, and pulse) before they decided to only provide those speeds.\u00a0 But what would have happened if they had left off the pulse speed, or perhaps the blend speed?\u00a0 Obviously it would not meet the needs of many of their customers.\u00a0 Or what would have happened if they did not take the time to insure that the blender was easy to take apart and clean?\u00a0 Again, it would have had the same complaints as its fancy predecessor had as being hard to use.\u00a0 And finally, what if it had only lasted a few months, also like its predecessor?\u00a0 It would have hardly seemed a bargain at any price if it won\u2019t work as we want it to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Being the Best means listening to your customers and giving them what they want and doing it well, even if those\u00a0products or services\u00a0are simple to use, have less features, or cost less than their competitors.\u00a0 How they are manifested in your product or service is up to you to find out from your customers, but here are some things to consider:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meeting the above criteria is not easy, and it certainly is not \u201cgood enough\u201d no matter how simple the product or service is.\u00a0 The research, however, is clear that those organizations that know who their customers are, know what they want and give it to them are typically much more successful and sustainable than those organizations that just give their customers \u201cgood enough\u201d solutions that are only marginally useful.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Besides, which would you rather be known for: being just \u201cgood enough\u201d or for being \u201cthe best\u201d at meeting your customer\u2019s needs, no matter how simple you make it look when you meet those needs?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Being the Best means listening to your customers and giving them what they want and doing it well, even if those products or services are simple to use, have less features, or cost less than their competitors. Continue reading