It is no good knowing who your target audience / customer is. You must also know:
What do they truly value?
Now, this is a tricky matter!
What do they value?
What do they want?
What do they need?
Not what do you think they value, want and need . . .
And this is where many organizations get into trouble. They believe that they know what is best for the target audience (and indeed, you may indeed know), but then they assume that is what the audience believes, values, wants and needs.
NOT NECESSARILY SO . . .
What does your target audience value?
This is a challenging questions that can only be answered by talking to the "customer" and finding out what they want, need and desire.
Way too many churches have "gone out of business" because they thought they knew what the customer wanted and it turns out, the church was wrong. They were offering something that the customer didn't want and so they stopped coming.
Many battles have been fought and lost in churches, as leaders tried (unsuccessfully) to get the congregation/audience to buy into a vision/mission that the congregation did not want!
We were scratching where they didn't itch.
(By the way - this is a huge issue and what to do when this happens is quite complex.)
"The customer is always the boss" is a Druckerism. They vote with their feet and their wallets.
Deeply pleasing your core, loyal customers, so they become Raving Fans -- Vital and Essential. Customer loyalty is shorter than its ever been. Options are endless. If you don't meet their needs well, they will quickly find someone else who can.
It is hopeless protesting that THIS IS NOT HOW IT SHOULD BE . . .
Protest all you want, but THIS IS HOW IT TRULY IS . . .
At LCI, we believe we know what leaders need, but we also know that leaders are not always willing to make the investment for what they truly need. So we do a lot of work to stimulate awareness and a sense of deep need, along with repercussions of not moving in these personal developmental directions; and finally, giving what we hope is an inspiring vision of who they can become!
We wrestle with offering a produce/service/relationship that we know they need, but they may not desire or want enough. In some cases, we say, "If you don't want this, that's okay, there are others who do."
Then in some cases, we believe is worthwhile to be patient with the process of creating awareness and desire.
Navigating the tension of faithfulness to God and His mission and doing so in a way that attracts and keeps the target audience - that tension is going to be with us a long time.
Brian K. Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International
www.lci.typepad.com
