In the first article, I plainly said that: “You have to be an experience customer (first), before you can be a good seller.” The question of what could be possibly wrong, even though I have carefully planned everything, I have made acceptable assumptions, and I have done my market research, remains unanswered.At that point, I usually still argue that I have done my planning and made acceptable assumptions and it should be enough. The problem with “acceptable assumptions” happens because I make that assumption, I confidently enough act on behalf of my target market. Those assumptions came from my reasonable state of mind and not my customers. If I have never breathed their air, eaten their foods, and had their life, I might have different way of reasoning.
Another problem with small entity may come from its market research. We just do not have those big companies’ resources to do a proper market research. We all know that the accuracy will increase with the number of people surveyed and how the surveys are conducted. In one sense, as a small firm we will not get accurate information because of our limitation. By having a good experience as customer in a market, it may give us better understanding for that particular market and this might overcome the problem.
If I have to choose, I would rather engage in a field where I have experience, knowing the soil inside out. This way, I could better understand my market and my customers. I would be able to understand my expectations as customer and at the same time the difficulties in fulfilling those expectations as seller. Managing these two issues might give me a competitive edge in that market. But I do realize that life is not always as smooth as it could be. Sometimes, we end up in a new market and we are left with no choice. In this case, we will have a lot of learning to do. This will not be easy but it can be overcome. In this instance, I would try to understand by experience, I try to understand not from above but from within the market itself. I mingle with them, experience what they experience, being one of them. Putting it in the real world, I would not totally understand the difficulties as an entrepreneur if I have never been in one. I can study literature, report, reading article but without experiencing, my understanding will be limited to my imagination.
We are here learning new things each and everyday. Being a teacher and student at the same time will lead us to a greater pool of information. The challenge is not only processing that information into a new applicable knowledge and implementing this knowledge, but how we understand the nature of that information which will lead us to better conclusion.
Author: Michael A Oei - MarketingFirst Group
