Clustering

In mainstream, high volume product categories (especially) there’s an initial economic pressure to design your product to be consumed by the broadest number of people possible. I.e. keep adding product features until the marginal utility of additional features to the consumer drops below the marginal cost to the company of adding additional features. This should, in theory, maximise revenue.

This is similar to a concept in design theory known as Universal Design.

The problem with universal design is it doesn’t actually translate into the broadest number of people being delighted and happy. They’re merely satisfied and that is especially unremarkable.

It’s also tempting in a small business to create the ‘universal design’ of your product. Jesus, it’s hard enough to think about scaling any other way when you’re experiencing the overburdening weight of survival alone.

And I think this approach makes a lot of sense for your first phase of growth. Create the product that does one thing and does it well, to suit the broadest number of your target market possible and gain critical mass.

But there comes a point where you need to start thinking beyond merely satisfying the broadest number of people to completely and utterly delighting the broadest number of people possible.

If universal design represents one end of the customer satisfaction continuum, is individual customisation at the other end the right strategy to adopt?

No.

Clustering is.

Design your product and entire value chain to meet the needs of clusters of your customer base.

That level of customisation is all that is needed to turn a satisfied (or even highly satisfied) customer base into a blissfully happy client base.

Note: This idea was largely formed and distilled in this brilliant Ted talk of Malcolm Gladwell the researchers behind it. I’d recommend watching it.