She stands outside of the store with a cooler full of warm tamales. The handwritten, cardboard sign lists the three or four types she has available for sale. And just in case you don’t see her, she politely says “tamales” to passersby. Her tamales are fantastic—and her customers rave about them! It had been a while since I saw her, but there she was last week. Her price had increased since the last time I saw her. As I paid her, she handed me a business card along with the package of tamales. She now provides tamales for parties.
What a smart lady! The store sells tamales for more and they don’t taste as good as hers. She realized she could increase her pricing without impacting her sales. And she is expanding into large orders based on requests from customers. Understanding the market and customer interests is at the core of any business. How well do you understand yours?