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<blockquote data-quote="The Sigil" data-source="post: 260332" data-attributes="member: 2013">And here, even we fall into the same mindset that dooms the bean-counters.The bean counters know that there are people out there who have appetites.&nbsp; If you give them something they want to eat, they pay you.&nbsp; If they pay you, you make money.&quot;Now,&quot; says the bean counter to himself, &quot;should we discard those 60 people?&nbsp; After all 100 people will buy this, but only 40 will buy that.&nbsp; We would be foolish to ignore the 60 people that WOULDN'T buy that.&quot;The problem is that the bean counter assumes there are only 100 people.&nbsp; It doesn't dawn on him that he can make more money satisfying the 140 appetites than he can satisfying 100.&nbsp; But that's because he thinks that everyone belongs in one of two market segments &quot;those with appetites&quot; and &quot;those without.&quot;&nbsp; He doesn't realize that &quot;those with appetites&quot; includes the sub-segments &quot;those with appetites for crunch&quot; and &quot;those with appetites for cream.&quot;&nbsp; So without realizing it, he forgets that there is a group he is not trying to reach.&nbsp; The elves, who are so busy taking care of the trees that they can't get on top of them to see the forest, don't have the right argument to begin with... they think that &quot;those with appetites for crunch&quot; is the entire market of &quot;those with appetites&quot; - they know that there must be some with appetites for cream, so they just segment the market further into &quot;those with appetites for crunch and cream&quot; and &quot;those with appetites for just crunch.&quot;Then he wonders why he's out of a job when a smart dwarf comes in - one who looks out from the top of his mountain over the forest and sees things.&nbsp; One who takes the time to talk to those with appetites and finds out what they like and realizes, &quot;hey, there aren't two types of people with appetites, there are three - those with appetites for just crunch, those who like just cream, and those who like both!&quot;&nbsp; In fact, he realizes it's not even that simple - some like lots of cream but still want some crunch, some want mostly crunch but still with a little cream.&nbsp; Finally he realizes, &quot;I can't put out the same thing and expect everyone to like it - I need lots of different recipes!&quot;&nbsp; So he gets all of his clansmen together and they create a bakery conglomerate, UTHER-DEE-TWENTY-PUBLISHERS.&nbsp; The dwarf and his clan create all sorts of pastries - some with a little crunch, some with a lot of crunch.&nbsp; Some with cream, some without.&nbsp; They appeal to all sorts of groups.&nbsp; Now some of these pastries don't sell as well as others, but the dwarves aren't burdened by the unrealistic expectations of bean counters.Pretty soon, the bean counters are out of a job and the dwarven conglomerate has the fans of crunch and cream happy.&nbsp; Some people like certain styles and mixes of crunch/cream, and so some dwarven pastries sell more than others, but on the whole, EVERYBODY can find something that they like.&nbsp; And since the dwarves are bound together not by a love of money but more by a love of crafting the pastries, they are able to ignore the bean counters when they tell the dwarves they SHOULD be making more money.&nbsp; And the dwarves - and those who had appetites - all lived happily ever after.Afterword:&nbsp; After the success of their pastry line, the dwarves look to move into peanut butter - until they realize that peanut butter ALREADY offers both crunchy and creamy varieties because the peanut butter execs hired smarter bean counters.--The SigilSeriously, I think the market is not 100 people and selling to 40 people neglects the &quot;other 60.&quot;&nbsp; I think that the market looks more like &quot;80 people who like it mostly crunchy&quot; and &quot;20 people who love both crunchy and creamy&quot; and &quot;20 people who prefer much creamy with a little crunchy&quot; - IOW, it's closer to 120 people - instead of 100 - something the bean counters are missing because in choosing to go &quot;all crunch&quot; they miss the group that doesn't really like crunch</blockquote>

[QUOTE="The Sigil, post: 260332, member: 2013"] And here, even we fall into the same mindset that dooms the bean-counters. The bean counters know that there are people out there who have appetites. If you give them something they want to eat, they pay you. If they pay you, you make money. "Now," says the bean counter to himself, "should we discard those 60 people? After all 100 people will buy this, but only 40 will buy that. We would be foolish to ignore the 60 people that WOULDN'T buy that." The problem is that the bean counter assumes there are only 100 people. It doesn't dawn on him that he can make more money satisfying the 140 appetites than he can satisfying 100. But that's because he thinks that everyone belongs in one of two market segments "those with appetites" and "those without." He doesn't realize that "those with appetites" includes the sub-segments "those with appetites for crunch" and "those with appetites for cream." So without realizing it, he forgets that there is a group he is not trying to reach. The elves, who are so busy taking care of the trees that they can't get on top of them to see the forest, don't have the right argument to begin with... they think that "those with appetites for crunch" is the entire market of "those with appetites" - they know that there must be some with appetites for cream, so they just segment the market further into "those with appetites for crunch and cream" and "those with appetites for just crunch." Then he wonders why he's out of a job when a smart dwarf comes in - one who looks out from the top of his mountain over the forest and sees things. One who takes the time to talk to those with appetites and finds out what they like and realizes, "hey, there aren't two types of people with appetites, there are three - those with appetites for just crunch, those who like just cream, and those who like both!" In fact, he realizes it's not even that simple - some like lots of cream but still want some crunch, some want mostly crunch but still with a little cream. Finally he realizes, "I can't put out the same thing and expect everyone to like it - I need lots of different recipes!" So he gets all of his clansmen together and they create a bakery conglomerate, UTHER-DEE-TWENTY-PUBLISHERS. The dwarf and his clan create all sorts of pastries - some with a little crunch, some with a lot of crunch. Some with cream, some without. They appeal to all sorts of groups. Now some of these pastries don't sell as well as others, but the dwarves aren't burdened by the unrealistic expectations of bean counters. Pretty soon, the bean counters are out of a job and the dwarven conglomerate has the fans of crunch and cream happy. Some people like certain styles and mixes of crunch/cream, and so some dwarven pastries sell more than others, but on the whole, EVERYBODY can find something that they like. And since the dwarves are bound together not by a love of money but more by a love of crafting the pastries, they are able to ignore the bean counters when they tell the dwarves they SHOULD be making more money. And the dwarves - and those who had appetites - all lived happily ever after. Afterword: After the success of their pastry line, the dwarves look to move into peanut butter - until they realize that peanut butter ALREADY offers both crunchy and creamy varieties because the peanut butter execs hired smarter bean counters. --The Sigil Seriously, I think the market is not 100 people and selling to 40 people neglects the "other 60." I think that the market looks more like "80 people who like it mostly crunchy" and "20 people who love both crunchy and creamy" and "20 people who prefer much creamy with a little crunchy" - IOW, it's closer to 120 people - instead of 100 - something the bean counters are missing because in choosing to go "all crunch" they miss the group that doesn't really like crunch [/QUOTE]

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