Most good ideas are picked apart, shot down or simply ignored the first several times those thoughts are put on the table. You can almost measure an idea’s positive potential by the amount of resistance and rejection that idea gets upon introduction.
I spoke with the CFO of a struggling company this week about focusing their marketing and tuning their product offerings to the largest buying block in the U.S.: women.
The idea was immediately dismissed. “Women don’t really buy this product.”
Gee, could that be because your product design is bulky and difficult to move? This needs to be fixed anyway.
Could it because the documentation is so confusing an engineer would have trouble understanding it? A common complain that needs fixing anyway.
Could it be because all the marketing happens where mostly retired men hang out? A terrible waste of advertising dollars because this demographic seeks out the product anyway.
“We have found that advertising doesn’t return the investment.” Advertising? Who said anything about advertising? Okay, I mentioned they were wasting a lot of advertising dollars but I never suggested spending moron advertising. (NOT a typo)
I advised refocusing the product on women. At least develop an offering, opening if you will, for women within your product offerings and support channel.
“Yeah, uh, we’ll think about it. In the meantime, we’re looking at social media. We want to start using Twitter and Facebook.”
How stupid can you get? Ignore 52% of your market but waste time with Twitter and Facebook? Social media? How in the hell can it even be social if the company itself ignores 52% of the market?! That’s as stupid as a “White’s Only” basketball team.
Note: If the previous comment offended you, read someone else’s blog from now on. The statement, offensive as it is, needs to be made. If you’re offended, you don’t get it and probably never will.
No wonder this company has fallen from $300 million to $10 million in annual sales over 5 years. I doubt they’ll survive much longer. Sure, with 25 employees and $10 million dollars, a company could still thrive. But with that kind of thinking? No. No way. They are going keep shrinking because the entire mindset is in the bunker. Here’s another company trying to “wait out” a recession that isn’t going to end—for them.
Chris Reich, sadly watching companies fail that don’t have to.