SmallBusinessNewz

Keeping with the spirit of finding business lessons from the customer role, I want to raise a point about something I notice about a lot of businesses.

They overlook or pay too little attention to certain parts of their market.

A specific example I can give, and what is really the inspiration for this article is the fact that I am a tall male, and it is irritatingly difficult to find clothing and shoes that fit me properly.

Every time I go clothes or shoe shopping, it seems to be a huge ordeal and a drawn out event in which I have to go to store after store just to find something that fits me that remotely matches my style (not that I have much of a style). In fact, many of the items I buy I do so generally based on compromise. I often compromise with my better judgment just to get the ordeal over with, and end up wearing things that I ordinarily wouldn't have been as likely to purchase had the stores offered my size in other items.

Now I'm tall, but I'm not that tall. I'm about 6'5". I'm not Shaq by any means. I see people my height all the time, and often people even taller. So why is it so difficult to find items that fit me? Is it because all of these other tall people are beating me to the punch and buying up everything or is it that the stores just aren't carrying these sizes? Either way, it is clear that they are not carrying enough stock in them.

Some might tell me to try my luck online. Sometimes I do, and it is easier to find tall sizes online, but still I typically like to try on clothes/shoes before I by them unless it is something that I can't find in a brick and mortar store.

Some might also tell me to go to Big & Tall stores, but quite frankly, I rarely find things I actually like at them.

My real question is, how much business are the regular stores losing out on because they don't have what I'm looking for? I can't be the only one with this problem.

Am I not part of their target market? Just because I'm tall? I doubt that these stores are deliberately ignoring my business in favor of shorter people. Maybe I'm wrong.

The lessons to be taken away from this rambling are:

- don't ignore part of your market because that is only more business that you will be missing out on

- if you're not ignoring part of your market, do your best to keep well stocked.

- if it is not feasible to cater to a certain part of your market, be helpful in assisting the customer in alternatives.

Please share other business lessons you have taken away from your own experiences as customers.