Your story about crop dusting reminded me about the way Sam Walton used to conduct research for a new Wal-Mart when he was first expanding his business. He would get into a small plane and fly around until he saw a lot of cars in one spot. That was all the market sensing he needed to do. While that method worked for him, I don’t think it would work for most us.

Thanks for the reminder that product marketing can’t be done without help. It’s vital that the people on the ground – sales, customer support, development, etc. – have some influence in how a product is ultimately developed. Not only do you get a product that the customer wants to buy, you also get staff that are enthusiastic about supporting it.

Great post.