Today I taught a class of graduate students at the University of Utah about starting a company. What was interesting ut of a class of 11 people, each one was unique. They all had specific talents and strengths. The only two things they had in common was they were pretty smart and they all had a drive to build a company.
This is the paradox of market segmentation. While a segment overall has certain common characteristics, any individual in that segment is unique and does not fit the assumptions. Hence the need for adaptability. Further complicating the mix is the difference between needs and wants. You may talk to your focus group and hear people say, "I want this and that". So you build a product that does everything they wanted.
The product fails. Why?
The trick here is reading in-between the lines. What is the underlying need they are trying to articulate? Give them something that resonates with that root cause, and you will do well.
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