What Does Your Audience Need?

I often encourage women business owners to think of themselves as orchestra conductors to help them fully embrace their role as leaders.  That’s a helpful metaphor because so often women business owners started the business themselves and end up not leading, but playing every instrument in the orchestra! 

One of the most important roles the orchestra conductor plays (no pun intended!) is to put herself the role of the audience and ask what they want.  Wow, there’s a concept!

Not to scare you, but here’s just a short list of companies that have failed in just the last three years:  Bennigans, Borders, Blockbuster, Crabtree and Evelyn, Hollywood Video, Hummer, Pontiac, Sharper Image, and (for those of you old enough to remember) Woolworths.

Wow, those are some powerful brands that somehow became irrelevant. 

What about you?  Are you completely confident that your company will be here in three years?  Not just surviving, but thriving.

I’ll never forget seeing Garth Brooks interviewed years ago.  He said the first thing he does when his band gets to the venue where they will perform – those huge arenas and giant stadiums – is to find the seat in that’s farthest away from the stage.  He walks out and sits in that seat and asks himself, “What does this guy need to get HIS money’s worth?” 

What a great example of a business owner who “gets it.” 

I bet your taste in music has changed in the last ten years, along with the way you listen to music.  My guess is, your customer’s needs have changed as well. 

Resistance to change is fatal.  Business graveyards are littered with companies that said, “But this is how we always did it.” 

Sadly, some companies are so deeply invested in their own traditions that they tend to confuse those traditions with their real function.

Many churches have become great examples of embracing change.  As demographics change, churches need to appeal to a younger market.  Some are using multi-media programs; some are integrating contemporary music & drama into their Sunday morning services.  Others are offering casual services on Friday evenings.  They work at addressing the needs of young families.

They’ve paid attention to their market (their audience).  Perhaps they left behind a few traditions, like some of the formality, some of the old hymns, and attracted an entirely new market of young people. 

Think about this:

• MEDIOCRE Companies survive by MEETING customers’ needs
• GOOD companies grow by ANTICIPATING customers needs
• GREAT  companies thrive by CREATING needs for customers

Don’t resist changing needs.  Embrace them.  Anticipate your customers’ needs get out ahead of them.  Be like Garth Brooks.  Sit in the last row and ask yourself, “What can we do to give this gal her money’s worth?”