YOU CAN CREATE THE FUTURE

There is a big difference between “predicting” the future and creating” the future. When you create the future, you introduce a product or service whose very success “creates” a trend. In essence, you are untapping a latent interest in a new category of product.

The secret is that this product or service that you create does not have to be new. You can tweak an existing product or service and differentiate yourself from all other similar products/services.

I like the following example: Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn took a chance that people would pay twice as much for high-end popcorn. Popcorn was not a new concept; Redenbacher presented it in a different manner.  The rest is history. 

I always challenge you to lead change, not to follow it. My session this evening on Value Proposition says, in essence, that success is a result of being able to differentiate yourself from your competition. Every single service or product can be changed for the better in a variety of ways. For example, it can be the packaging, the description of the benefits it provides, the after sale service, the educational aspect, the delivery method, etc.

I use the term “upgrading” when I challenge a business owner to differentiate himself from his competition. Jumping from your core service or product because you are having a slump can be the most expensive mistake made. New products/services require an entirely new investment in time, money, marketing methods, target market segmentation, etc.

In most, perhaps not all cases, staying with your core competence and improving on it is a wiser business decision than starting at the bottom with something new.