A good bit of Tuned In is centered around the concepts of finding, creating and launching what we call resonators. We define resonators as the perect solution to your problem. They are the kinds of products, services and ideas you just have to have. The iPod. Starbucks. FedEx. Things that you can quickly identify as unique and valuable.
Our book will include a plethora of stories of resonators that we've found. Some you will have heard of. Many will be new to you. What's interesting to us is that as we interview leaders for the book, their stories almost always start with the fact that they didn't set out to be innovative, breakthrough or customer-driven. They just developed an expertise and passion in an area and were trying to solve problems they found.
Our friend, Shaun Dakin started the Citizins for Civil discourse after a successful stint as a product manager at the Motley Fool. He identified a pretty simple problem that has now caught the attention of local and national media. Turns out that your 'do not call' block doesn't apply to politicians. Shaun has created a service that gives voters the flexibility to block or provide scheduling windows for these calls. Best of all, its funded by the politicians who need to pay to register. Shaun's blog has all the details http://blog.StopPoliticalCalls.org/
Mary Cole, VP of Marketing at Hill Computer Carts has studied the impact that the introduction of Electronic Medical Records has had on the doctor/patient visit. She's personally interviewed 60 of them. She heard the frustrations of patients annoyed with doctors sitting down and turning their backs to type in an update. She's also listened to doctors tell her how they've resorted to hiring an assistant to trail them into visits and take notes while they administer care. She and her company are creating a solution to this problem, a cart designed to allow mobile health care professionals to stay face-to-face with their patients while they update records.
We've heard similar stories from businesses in all types of industries, from health care services to technology to retail to the music industry and beyond. We're fascinated when we find a solution that resonates in its market and we're finding some very common characteristics in how they were created ... listening, market sensing, creative problem solving and ability to build authentic connections with their buyers.
We'd welcome the opportunity to explore some of yours. Do you have any you'd like to share?
