Did We Miss an Opportunity?
At the end of December 2018, I treated myself to a new Apple iPad 2018 generation tablet. As accessories, the device can be matched with a keyboard that doubles as a cover and a “pencil” that connects by Bluetooth and acts as a wireless pointing device, kind of like a mouse. Apple make both the keyboard and pencil and I thought it would be nice to get the “set”.
The store I went to had the device I wanted, but no keyboard and no pencil. Another store in the same city had the pencil, but still no keyboard.
Never mind, I thought to myself, when I go back to where I live, there’s an Apple retailer there and I can pick up the keyboard.
No such luck. Fast forward nearly 2 months and there is STILL no keyboard available.
Luckily, some 2 years previously, I had purchased a bluetooth keyboard made by another third-party supplier. When I looked at it more closely, I found that it had more features than its Apple counterpart, all of which were compatible with my new iPad. Without going into a long list, this keyboard had been paid for, was more suited to my needs and had cost me a fraction of what the Apple one would have. I could also use my new iPad with or without it, as opposed to the Apple keyboard/cover which comes as a single unit.
Had the keyboard/cover been available when I bought the iPad, I would have bought it, even though initial reviews suggested that, despite being an improvement on its predecessor, it still lacked certain key functionality.
So… because Apple hadn’t shipped enough of its new keyboard covers (and nearly not enough pencils), I ended up saving money and with a superior accessory to what I would have purchased for the “name”.
It makes me wonder how often we miss opportunities because we haven’t anticipated potential demand. In these days of commoditisation, copying and imitation it’s hard to recover from an opportunity lost as the competition has already gained momentum.
Part of how we minimise this risk lies in planning (not always easy) and the other in experience gained as we realise what we missed because we may have been looking in another (or the wrong) direction. Our customers and staff can be valuable sources of information as to where things are headed – it pays to listen to them.
So now I ask myself, “Which way am I looking and why?”…
I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My websiteprovides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Customer Care, Financial, Selling, Strategy
posted by William Martin @ 11:05
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