Link This |
Email this |
Blog This |
Comments (0)
The Age Of Exponential Growth In What We Don’t Know
March 1, 2007
“Information is expanding 10 times faster than any product on this planet — manufactured or natural.”
“The paradox of science is that every answer breeds at least two new questions. More answers mean even more questions, expanding not only what we know but also what we don’t know.”
Kevin Kelly, author of Cool Tools
Wired Magazine, February 2007
To the extent this is generally true, it is so in spades relative to the CE industry, which, by the way, is great news, particularly the part about answers generating more questions.
People usually only ask about things that interest them, and God knows consumers have questions about CE products and technology. If Kelly is right, and we answer those questions, it follows that those asking will not only ask more questions, but, more importantly, will become more involved with (or buy) what they are asking about.
However there is a small catch. As things go, we don’t do a particularly good job of listening to the questions populating consumer minds, not to mention answering them. I sometimes feel like a negotiator shuttling between two opposing sides: CE companies who hire me to tell them what consumers think, and the consumers I research and to whom my clients hope to sell. The gap in understanding is often enormous and explains why more is not bought and/or why one brand that should do better does not.
Kelly closed his article saying:
“Future technologies such as artificial intelligence, controlled fusion and quantum computing (to name a few on the horizon) will change the world — that means the biggest questions have yet to be asked.”
With due respect to Mr. Kelly, when it comes to CE, things are much simpler, more along the lines of “What’s a line of resolution?”, “What other colors of ‘tooth’ are there besides blue?”, and one of my personal favorites, “Can I get a computer with a soft disc? The hard disc ones are too hard.”(All questions I’ve been asked in focus groups.)
Answer those questions — make a sale.
Posted by Bill Matthies on March 1, 2007 | Comments (0)
