Your Mission Doesn’t Matter. What Your Customer Wants Does.

missionAs I write this, I have just watched an interview with the CEO of Panera Bread announcing their new “kids meals.” He talked at length about their mission to provide nutritious meals. He spoke about how this initiative fits into Panera’s mission to promote healthy food. He attacked McDonald’s for the quality of their food, while admitting that McDonald’s food is much healthier than it used to be. Not once did he ever mention what the customer wants. The fact is kids don’t want soup and a salad. They want burgers and fries.

Panera is not the only company the fall into this trap. Every year I see a new batch of toy companies unveil products that are designed to teach, designed to be environmentally friendly, or designed to promote a specific idea. They all fail because none of them are designed to be fun.

You can only succeed in your mission if people use your product or service. While a small number will be drawn to your mission, those people already think as you do. You’re preaching to the choir.  For your company and your mission to succeed, you need to be responding to what the customer wants. That could be convenience, price, or a hundred other factors. Your mission is the reason you do what you do, but it not necessarily why your customer does what they do.

If you want to succeed in a mission, your implementation of that mission has to meet the customer’s needs. If you put your mission before your customers, they will go elsewhere.