As most of you who read my blog know I tend to travel all over the U.S. doing training and consulting.  Most of my journeys take me to small towns dealing with newspaper groups.  I love working in those markets because you get to see what the people in the field are doing to drive the business.  But I’ve also noticed one undeniable fact; they like to do business their way.  Hence the story of the Volvo dealership.

While visiting one town, I’ll call it Maxburg, TX, I noticed a trend in the vehicles.  Everyone there drove a truck.  It was the truck and boot capital of the world.  A friend of mine there drove a Volvo.  Now I have nothing against a Volvo.  In fact, I believe they are a really good car.  But a Volvo in a town of pickups tends to stand out like a go-cart at the Indy 500.

So as any good business would do someone decided we needed to put a Volvo dealership in Maxburg.  The rationale was there were a couple of people driving Volvos so the market must want Volvos.   These people need a new Volvo; they just don’t know it yet.  Sound familiar?

I’ve seen many a business struggle by trying to move the markets up to where they think they should be rather than finding solutions to help them where they are.  As you might imagine, those who bought Volvos soon looked around and realized they were in a pick-up truck town and traded them in for a new truck.

Go to where your customers are and you’ll be surprised at the success you will have.  It’s Not Rocket Science…It’s Rocket Science Made Easy.