REGISTER NEW USERLOST PASSWORD? WELCOME, Logout

Two types of customers

Paul's Posts — 29 May 2012

By

Two types of customers

I am convinced there are two main types of customers for high-end audio: dealers and end users.  If you’re a manufacturer which customer do you design your product for?  Both are absolutely valid.

Dealers have constant day-to-day communication with end users and collect all the info from them and then ask manufacturers to fill the needs of their customers.

End users know what they want and need and are the ultimate customer, but so scattered and varied are their desires that any manufacturer who designs for them has a huge challenge ahead to figure out what might appeal in a single product.

The dealer can act like a filter, while the end user can provide the ultimate answer if only one could determine which end user to pay attention to.

Most high-end companies I know choose the dealer route – they build products that are most requested by their dealer network – which reflect the desires of the dealer’s customer base.

It’s probably no surprise that we take a somewhat different course – an amalgam of both – but the final arbiter in the decision comes down to two criteria: do we want to own the products and are they extraordinary enough to deserve a life of their own?

Unusual?  Yes.  Weird?  I don’t think so.

email Two types of customers Forward to a friend and help us engage more readers

Get new and fresh stories like this each morning by joining the folks reading Paul's Posts. Click here

Related Articles

Serving it up Rolling it off What’s all the fuss about? Young turks

Share

About Author

Paul McGowan

Paul McGowan is the CEO and co-founder of PS Audio Inc. a Boulder Colorado design and manufacturing company of high-end audio products and services. McGowan has been designing and building high-end products for nearly 40 years. Hobbies include skiing, music, hiking, artisan bread baking, kick boxing and cooking. He lives in Boulder Colorado with his wife Terri and his 4 sons.

(4) Readers Comments

  1. Bassman23

    May 29, 2012 at 5:53 am

    Interestingly enough, your approach is covered in your initial set of choices; you are the end user.
    How many marketing departments are staffed by audiophiles? Some, perhaps, but not enough to trust their own instincts. Besides, it is not the job of the marketer to give their own opinion – in fact, one might contend that a marketer who injects their opinion into market research should be fired!
    But a designer using their own opinion to manufacture something they would wish to own? It sounds like the American dream to me – and perhaps why historically so many great products originated here!

  2. mykola

    May 29, 2012 at 8:23 am

    I am a firm believer in satisfying the customer which is why in my opinion some of the most successful companies tend to have excellent customer support. Now that being said, the ultimate dream is to have someone make products that he thinks he or she would want to own and one of the best at achieving that goal was Steve Jobs. Personally, I am a PC type of person because well they’re cheaper and honestly they do work the same as Mac’s (yeah yeah I know people will argue this to the end of time) but Jobs took Apple and decided to make things that he wanted to own personally. That is how Apple again in my opinion became one of the most successful tech companies today and continues to achieve success. How that will translate now that Jobs is gone is anyone’s guess but if you can have people make products that they would want to own themselves and be proud and happy then well I personally think you’re doing it the right way as opposed to just pleasing the spectrum of public opinion. Go against the grain!!

  3. oliver T. Finch

    May 29, 2012 at 7:44 pm

    There are times when neither the dealer nor the consumer knows what is possible.Only the manufacturer does. Take the P10 for example. While every manufacturer was trying to condition the power coming into the house with varying success, PS audio thought outside the box and came up with the best possible solution. Nothing can be better than pure AC no matter what the claims made by the manufacturers or reviewers. This is an example of why the consumer is not always right or even knows what is right or possible and this includes the dealers too. They have to be led by the hand by the manufacturer. Left to the consumers and dealers we would still be listening to sound which can be best described as mice singing in a tin can, fancy cans no doubt. Regard..

Leave a Reply