People change but forget to tell each other how

Or is it that we don’t recognise change until we’re asked to think exactly ‘what is it that’s different?’

At the weekend, I saw someone in a shop that I haven’t seen for 20 years. And yes, she’d changed. She was now married and 4 weeks ago she’d had a baby boy! You don’t get much greater change than that..!

Of course I never thought she would have stayed the same not after so long. So why then, if we know that people change, do businesses believe that their customers stay the same? They must do, because they offer nothing new and wonder why the orders don’t come in like they did before.

10 years ago a company knew that their product attracted a customer of a certain age. Today that company takes pride in the fact that they’ve had the same loyal customer base that hasn’t changed for over 10 years… But their customers have changed significantly, they’re now 10 years older! And they’re no longer attracting the younger market.

George Bernard Shaw summed it up nicely when he said,

The only man who behaves sensibly is my tailor he takes my measure anew every time he sees me, whilst all the rest go on with their old measurements, and expect them to fit me.

So if you’re a supplier don’t wait to be told that what you offer no longer fits – pick up the phone and ask what’s changed…

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