Microsoft is discounting it’s ‘Surface’ tablet just to get traction in the market. Even with all their innovation and marketing firepower Microsoft can’t make people care enough to switch, or belong.

Innovation isn’t just about making something that works well, (I’ve never used a Surface, but I’m guessing it does). And marketing isn’t about tempting the ‘market of everyone’ to change their minds. We need to start drilling down to the reasons people will want what we make.

3 Questions Innovators Must Ask

1. Who am I making this for?

2. What will make them care enough to choose this and not that?

3. Why will they pay me for it?

Ideas, products and services can be dreamt up in a moment, innovation and ideation isn’t the hard part. Having the guts to ask the right questions, and to answer them honestly before you bring an idea you’ve fallen in love with to market, that’s the hard part.

Image by Joe Shlabotnik.