I use Biotene! Why don’t you create a Customer Advisory Panel and invite users with a message printed on every tube?

My brothers and I own a small business that makes Biotene mouthwash and toothpaste.
We have become larger in the past few years and I can see today what many businesses must be going through.
First, we have horrible politicking going on.
Even for our size, it stuns me to see how people become protective of their jobs and territories…at the detriment of the company.
Imagine this at such a large company like Chrysler!
And don’t think its only the higher ups!
The middle management level is FULL of I, I, Me, Me Mine!
It’s hard to discipline old employees.

When it comes to marketing, all hell is always breaking loose with difference of opinions.
And yes, sometimes we have to seriously confront our own weaknesses everyday.
We actually have to WORK at finding out what the customer needs and thinks.
You have no idea how easy it is to have what we think is a totally wonderful/fail safe idea…and only to end up with a product nightmare (read failure) that reminds us to be humble and actually seek opinions and advice from our sales people and the customers.
And, believe it or not…even when consulting with customers, you have to be careful because they to have an opinion that you can’t count on.
They tell you one thing…then actually do another.
I was reading all the LOVE from bloggers on the 2010 Taurus.
Bull…when push come to buying…they will get something else.
This is why I don’t trust polls.
And sometimes I think the US auto makers should share some of the blame with us American consumers.
We are nuts.
We DEMAND SUVs.
We DEMAND low cost fuel.
Yet it’s not our fault that Ford spends its cash from the rich years on purchasing useless European dog brands when they should have been spending it on R&D or perhaps loosing a little on high mileage small cars like the Japanese do so they have the product available when the consumer fad shifts.
So, if a small company like ours suffers from the inability to turn our boat around in the water quickly and successfully…I can only imagine the task involved with huge conglomerates like Chrysler, GM and Ford.
Let’s hope they somehow make more good decisions these next few months than bad ones.
Robert…hang in there.
I don’t know what I would do during the day without the wonderful and creative writing on TTAC.
Paul

Which is insane

I’m pretty sure that was Jim Varney being Ernest.

Is your point that one customer per day is not enough? Or, is it that these things are mostly silly management ideas that rarely bear fruit or lead to real change?

Seems to me that the point should be that if these guys aren’t already talking to customers regularly then they are likely in the wrong business.

Are you saying that since they’re already Chrysler customers that they don’t have valuable input on improvements, or are you arguing that it’s too little, too late?

“I never take it for granted, or assume I know better than you– about anything.”

Robert: I believe you.

He who knows he knows nothing, knows and he knows he knows, knows nothing.

Try typing THAT 10 times fast!

Oh, and 10:00 exactly! nice.

The chance and curse of entrepreneurs is to be both an exec and a low-level worker at the same time, but without golden parachute!