Clayton Christensen speaking at Oracle OpenWorld 2012
Oracle OpenWorld may not seem like the first place to find social media marketing resources for small businesses. But, when a world-renowned Harvard business professor and management consultant has something to say – it’s still usually a good idea to listen to some innovative thinking.
And listen we did, uncovering a thought-provoking nugget from this leading business thinker about how customers behave for any sized business.
We met Harvard University’s Dr. Clayton Christensen when Social Jumpstart was invited to OpenWorld, Oracle’s annual global customer event this week. While Larry Ellison is always entertaining – the keynote given by Professor Christensen was a real highlight. You may know Professor Christensen’s seminal work – the 1997 best selling – The Innovators Dilemma which was named one of the top 25 most influential business books by Time of the year and has become standard reading for many senior corporate executives. And his most recent work, How Will You Measure Your Life is also becoming a must read.
But you’re probably asking, how does a famous Harvard business professor, a best selling book and 100,000 technology executives at giant conference relate to and benefit a small business operator?
Simple – it all comes back to the customer.
From big (or gigantic) to small (or tiny) every business needs to understand their customer. Right?
Wrong!
What?
This was the nugget from the good professor that really got us thinking:
First he quoted the late great Peter Drucker:
“The customer rarely buys what the business thinks it sells him.”
This is a powerful concept. We know what we are selling but – do we really know why the customer is buying?
Christensen clarified the Drucker’s quote this way:
“Understanding the customer is the wrong thing to do. What is key is knowing the job the customer wants to have done. In other words – what is the customer “hiring” the product/service to do? That is where to focus.”
Oracle CIO Mark Sunday follows Dr. Clayton Christensen at OpenWorld
Ok – perhaps this is a bit esoteric but think about it. What are the problems that your customers have and how can you solve them? That may sound obvious to a sole proprietor but it can be useful before you make investments in time or resources where your customer has no need – even though you may think you know what they are buying. Innovative thinking leads to better customer connections.
The other interesting thing – social media provides more feedback and insights into your customer’s world than ever before too. Perspectives that will help your organization grow and succeed – when you know what you’re selling is what the customer really wants to buy.
