A lot of companies survey their customers.
However, most companies don’t talk to their customers. I covered this in a recent post here.
Another group of people companies don’t talk to enough is the competition’s customers.
For example:
If I’m Netflix, I’m talking to Hulu and Amazon customers.
If I’m AT&T, I’m having conversations with Verizon’s customers.
And if I’m Barnes & Nobles, which makes the Nook book reader, I’m sure as heck talking to Kindle customers.
The questions I’m asking them are as follows:
- Why did you buy that product or service?
- What do you do with it?
- Have you heard about our product or service?
- What do you know about us?
- Are you familiar with what we can do for you? (Explain. Also explain the pricing.)
- How does that feel to you?
- What would it take — what would you need to see and hear from us — to make a change to us.
They’ll tell you about features, pricing, and approaches you’ll need to take to win them over.
And if they’re thinking it, chances are thousands — maybe millions — of others are too.
So, go. Talk to your customers. And, just as importantly, talk to the competition’s customers.
Your last two post have been exceptional and resonate with what many see in the marketplace. We look too often for reactions from “the masses” when meaningful conversations with a smaller, segmented group of human beings can lead to a much richer assessment of desired features, pricing and so on. Most of us place tremendous value on time and relationships, which is usually a significant part of the answer to your first question: Why did you buy it (or not)? Keep the focus where it needs to be!
Thanks Tom. The centerpiece of my upcoming book, Evangelist Marketing, is about gathering deep customer insights. The vast majority of companies do not do this, and in those cases, they’re just guessing from a conference room.
I look forward to reading it, Alex. Lately, I have been focusing on what my friend Karen Welles calls “friend capital” – nurturing business friendships and relationships to build a sustainable enterprise vs. the speed dating-like approach to networking that is so prevalent. Your notion resonates with our view that reciprocal relationships (conversation) will have more long-term benefit than a mass approach (survey). Good luck!