At Mashable.com Luke Williams wrote about “how to develop ideas that will disrupt your industry.”
One of his key points is that although everybody says the way to prosper is to identify a problem and solve it, there are many successful ventures that don’t do this. His example is “Little Miss Matched,” a company that sells mis-matched socks in sets of three, a quirky fashion statement that has led to six retail stores employing more than 150 people. Nobody was saying, “You know what really bothers me? I can’t find a place to buy mis-matched socks.”
We’re all told constantly that it’s all about solving our customers’ problems and certainly that’s important. But it can also be useful to spend a little time each month or so thinking about how we could create (or modify) a product or service that would make our customers’ lives more fun. Here are a few random ideas off the top of my head–I’m sure you can do better!
In the highly-competitive coffee shop world, how about emulating the word of wines with a coffee-tasting evening?
In the declining world of book stores, how about setting aside a page of your website for the publication of stories by local aspiring authors? A local writer’s group could do the selecting for you.
If you’re a fitness personal trainer, why not organize a fun run for all of your clients, finishing with a juice at a local juice bar?
Often problem solutions are about what people need–but they’re even more willing to spend money on things they just want!
