In the 1990’s Robert Lauterborn started to introduce a revolution to the infamous 4 P’s of Marketing, instead focusing on the customer as the base of this marketing pyramid. One key element was instead of focusing on the product and development of a product that will sell, he said to focus on the customer’s need and fitting the solution to that need.

In reality, this is how all businesses start. Somebody sees a need that either a wide group or a select niche group of people have, and they decide to solve that need. Somewhere along the line in there, though, we get off focus and get tunnel vision on fixing our product, improving it, selling the product, and making it the best and with the cheapest production. We lose sight of the customer.

Instead we need to refocus on the customer and how to meet him or her where they are at and satisfy that need that brought them to your product or service in the first place. The bells and whistles are superficial sellers of the product, but it’s the customer solution that is the deeper,

Sometimes we have to let go of our baby “product” and let the market and consumers have control of it’s direction. Yes, you no longer will be the father and creator of your product or service, and you may not even be as keen to the evolved product, but are you selling to yourself or to the market? Apple is one great example of this as they are always coming out with the newest solution to customers’ needs before they even realize they had that need or desire.