Sep

Mass Customization is not Mass Customization

Mass Customization is doable with the right design. So many of us think in such broad terms that lead us to believe that mass customization is responding to every customers whim. I think that also hinders us from completely understanding the concepts of co-creation and co-producing. As Joe Pine so eloquently puts it in this video, “A customer does not want a lot of choices, he just wants what he wants!”

So, are you in the right product/market fit? You may not be if request of your customers cause you anguish and a great deal of stress. Maybe all these request are there for a reason other than the fickleness of your customers.

Do you feel when you give customers choices, they seldom choose what you want them to choose? You may be offering choices or asking too soon, which is an extension of trying to sell rather than understand. There can be other reasons to include that your product or service stinks or is not well described to begin with but we hope that is not the case.

The importance of playing in your customers playground or where your product/service is being used is so important. It might even be worth your time to even go a step further sometimes and observe the customer of your customer’s. Try to design a sales and marketing campaign from that view. Would that be called going to the Gemba of the Gemba!