>From
end of World War II until late 1970's most Americans spent majority of their money on basic goods and services with little left for luxury type items. Giant factories turned out millions of products whose style, color and size were often determined by what made machines work most efficiently. There wasn't much concern about what customer really wanted.Japanese auto producers forced reverberating changes in way consumers went about considering their purchases. Suddenly in mid-1970's a flood of cars hit America with features never before available at popular prices. Toyota and Honda revolutionized concept of "user friendly" products - incorporating a high standard of quality with easy to use features, all at affordable prices.
> Today's Customer Is Smart...And Demanding
Suddenly, consumers realized that someone did take their interests into consideration when designing products. In fact, a critical element in Japanese auto production since late 1960's has been extensive consumer research and surveying, particularly in area of durability and reliability needs.
The customer of 21st Century has learned from buying user friendly products such as Sony televisions, Panasonic stereos, Apple computers and Honda autos that they can be demanding and that manufacturers will respond. This has produced a new brand of customer that is educated, very aware of prices and very demanding.
She wants quality, variety, durability, excellent service and a very good price all at same time. She has a mind of her own and will talk about her interests and needs if you ask.
The process of asking customers what they want before you design your product or service is called being "market driven" because you are guided in your product development decisions by customer's wishes.
Today most successful new businesses are those that ask enough questions and listen carefully to answers.
> Understand Basic People Needs
It is sometimes frustrating trying to get honest information out of people, because they can't always express why they buy way they do. You can bet safely, however, that their need is one of several basic motivations of all people, such as:
