People may be agents of change. But that gee-whiz software you’re developing is just a tool – and while tools may enable change, people will make the change happen. When you’re evangelizing new tools, you’re looking for people with an itch they just can’t scratch. And once you show them how to scratch that itch, you can own them for life.

Yesterday, StartupSkills.com posted on understanding the early market and visionaries. Sometimes visionaries will buy into your product vision. But sometimes they’ve had the itch for years, wrestling with its application and ramifications, but unable to give it a good scratch. They’re the ones who will run with your product while others are taking baby steps. And they’ll take your product to the next level.

Until weblogs came around, there were people with something to say and no good way of saying it. Weblogs gave those people a way to scratch that itch. Previously, I dissed the prospect of CEO weblogs – they just don’t have the itch. But those same CEO’s preside over companies full of people eager to scratch. They’re the ones who can transform the company relationship with customers.