I guess that is the reason I don't own anything from any of those companies you mention at the bottom :)
Upper class maybe, but upper class is a small percentage of the market. To the middle class consumer with two kids and a mortgage the cost is a big thing. The reason people go to wal-mart in the first place is about cost. Take wal-mart, the service sucks, the customer to employee ratio is crazy. But they keep making money, because of the price. Unless you can show real value to the consumer, at a cost that is either less than or equal to what they are paying now, then they won't go for it. Take broadband access. I know people that pay $20 for dial up internet, but won't even consider paying $30 for high speed internet from the cable company. PC used for set top boxes will have to go beyond the gadget arena they are in now. Until the Media Center, and I use that term loosely, can compete with TiVo at a cost level it won't do anything for the major markets. > -----Original Message----- > From: Jerry Johnson [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2006 6:35 PM > To: CF-Community > Subject: Re: Mossberg: Apple Winning So Far > > I think it is the future of consumer relations. > > Combining great product with great service is going the be the > differentiator going forward. > > It is too easy these days to close a technology or product advantage gap. > The real value is in the painless consumer experience (coupled with > reasonable prices). > > Go to the store and watch people buy. Go to the grocery store, go to > Lowes, > go to Walmart. The products that appear to provide SOLUTIONS are the ones > that make it to the checkout line more often. Some items are bought on a > purely cost-conscious basis, but in middle and upper class consumer > households, more are bought for perceived value. > > Talk to a Volkswagon or Mercedes owner. Or a Saturn owner. They get it. > Talk > to a Pottery Barn or LL Bean consumer. They get it. > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:206625 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
