In my last post I talked about how Cirque du Soleil had invented new satisfaction for me. Much the same holds true for my relationship with the iPod and iTunes from Apple. Never once had I sat around and said to myself, “I sure wish I had a digital music player and a cool application to buy music online.” Just didn’t happen.
Today, my iPods (plural) are among my most useful, enjoyable possessions. Again the point is, Apple created new satisfaction for me. And apparently a few other folks – iPod unit sales are north of 200,000,000 since the product launched in 2001.
Cirque du Soleil and iPod are epic, breakthrough ideas. And there’s nothing wrong with shooting for epic, breakthrough ideas. But not every business is Cirque or Apple. And not every breakthrough idea has to be epic in order to create new satisfaction. Here’s a business and a story many of us can relate more to:
My friend, Mike, owns a company that sells and distributes packaging equipment and supplies. Not exactly sexy. But, it’s a well-operated company with a multi-year history of steadily increasing sales. Here’s the interesting thing: The products and services that Mike sells are true commodities – several local companies have the exact same products and services. But Mike’s sales and share continue to grow. They grow because Mike has found a way to invent new satisfaction for his customers.
In my next post, I'll tell you how he did that.
