68 Customer Perspective, Not Yours
b'Today I want to get a little further into some of the ideas of the customer perspective. I talked earlier (last episode) about finding a problem, and that solving it could be your next new business. \\n\\nAnother area is: Take a look that problems that are sort of solved. I say, \\u201csort of solved,\\u201d in the sense of something else has had an unintended purpose. Whenever that happens, that was a market opportunity that was missed. Do notice over and over again that I say, \\u201ccustomer perspective,\\u201d that\\u2019s because it\\u2019s what the customer sees; not you. Very different. Most people, and very often as an economist, we talk about customer demand, but demand is a function of all the attributes of the products, the characteristics of the person that\\u2019s buying it, etc. That\\u2019s where it all comes in, but: What is it about that person and what is it about that product that make it a nice fit? I\\u2019ve always wondered why most people can\\u2019t really see that, and I think I have a theory on it, anyway, and I\\u2019ll get to it at the end.\\n\\nFirst, let\\u2019s talk about some of the unintended purposes of products. Someplace somewhere along the line, baking soda, Arm & Hammer Baking Soda was basically for baking; use it in dough for rising, etc. What happened? Somebody someplace along the line must have stored it in their refrigerator, and noticed all of a sudden their refrigerator didn\\u2019t stink as it usually did, so now not only did people get encouraged to use it, Arm & Hammer came up with a version itself that is directly related to the refrigerators. Its purpose is to help reduce odors in refrigerators. They sell that for that purpose that way. They say it is not to be used for baking. So, it is not as pure, my guess is that it\\u2019s probably then either cheaper to make or it might have been runoffs or something where impurities have creeped into the process, so rather than throwing that batch away, they make it into the non-edible baking soda, and you stick it in your refrigerator.\\n\\nPeople noticed that for grating, people used some of the microplane wood rasps. So, people using microplane rasps for hardwood, literally for grating of things, cheeses, etc. So, what does that do? People then realize there\\u2019s a marketplace there, and they start selling graters, somewhat looking like a rasp (long, thin graters) that work great for the kitchen, exclusively for the kitchen. New product, same idea, same concept.\\n\\nHere\\u2019s one that I find very interesting: Q-tips, those cotton swabs that you have. First, what do you use Q-tips for? Most people don\\u2019t use them for the purpose that they were made. Most people use them for the purpose that they\\u2019re warned against not to use them for, that\\u2019s right, Q-tips does advertise and say it has a multitude of uses. Of course they want to say that because there\\u2019s sort of an implication, there, of some of the things, like your ear. They even have, let me read this to you, this warning: \\u201cIf used to clean ears, stroke swab gently around the outer surface of the ear,\\u201d then in bold print: \\u201cwithout entering the ear canal.\\u201d I think everybody uses Q-tips for cleaning the ear canal; maybe they try to not push it in too far. That\\u2019s what they use it for. It\\u2019s probably the major use for Q-tips, so of course, they advertise it as: \\u201cThere is no softer or safer swab than Q-tips cotton swabs, ideal for a multitude of uses.\\u201d\\n\\nMinoxidil was actually for high blood pressure. It was a treatment for high blood pressure. Somebody found out\\u2014how this happened, I have no idea\\u2014that it would grow hair, and they started selling it as Rogaine. Probably it was just a person taking it regularly, and started to get the fuzz on the top of their head.\\n\\nWhat about pie plates? Until I was reminded this, I had forgotten about it. Yeah, when there was a pie plate, the pie was done, we cleaned off the plate, we\\u2019d use it as what\\u2019s today called a Frisbee. So, somebody took something that everybody else was getting for free, made it out of plastic, made it look a little neater,'