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Wednesday, November 21, 2007

the Auto Retail Informer November 21, 2007

Auto Retail Informer Intro November 21, 2007

Patrick Barwise, a professor at London Business School, and Sean Meehan, a professor at the Institute for Management Development in Switzerland, are bandying about the argument that our push to be different - to compete based on "uniqueness" - is actually a load of bunk. In a recent article in the MIT Sloan Management Review, these academics argue that our obsession with uniqueness has distracted us from listening to our customers and delivering what they actually need.

"Every company serious about customer focus should aim to be the best at the things that matter most to customers," they write..

Source: David Vazdauskas.  MaineToday.com. October 22, 2004 

Highlights

• Understanding need (part ...

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  Understanding Need (part 3) (11/21/07)

  This week we have been addressing the topic of understanding need.  We have learned that consumers account for $70 out of every $100 of economic output (no matter how much they are putting out.) 

  And we have learned that as consumers basic physiological needs (food, shelter, and clothing) are met, their needs evolve to things like safety, love/belongingness, esteem, and self actualization. 

  In fact, in 1930, physiological expenditures seemed to account for 50 cents out of every dollar a US consumer spent.  But by 2006, the physiological expenses only accounted for about 30 cents out of every dollar (with the other 70 cents being these "higher" needs.) 

  So what does all of this mean for the field of auto retail?  As you know, for ...

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