Another Customer Secret – Wants vs. Goals

Posted on 20 September 2011 by | Leave a comment

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Think about the kind of product feedback you solicit from customers.  Now think about the kind of demands your sales force routinely makes related to features/functionality.  Companies commonly end up with a laundry list of “what I want the product to do.”  Responding to these types of requests is commendable (beats ignoring them) but misses the opportunity to innovate.

secrets prevent you from achieving customer goals

Customer Goals

Customers don’t keep this secret consciously, but they rarely consider what they are trying to accomplish.  Companies would be better served to re-frame the question to focus on customer goals.  “What are you trying to accomplish?” not “what do you want?”  If the difference between these two approaches isn’t intuitive, consider an example.

Q:  Which Mercedes customers asked for:

A: None

Instead, through a combination of direct observation, one-on-one conversations, and focus groups, companies should identify what the customer is trying to accomplish (in Mercedes’ case to arrive safely at their destination).  Mercedes’ response to this goal (safety) resulted in innovative solutions which provide competitive differentiation in the market.

Most customers are happy to be asked their opinion if they think their input will provide the impetus for a change.  The pivot point to overcoming this secret is to focus on what customers are trying to accomplish.  Innovate around customer goals and you can dominate the market.

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The Key to Unlocking 3 Customer Secrets

Posted on 14 September 2011 by | Leave a comment

Some of the most crucial customer conversations never occur because customers keep secrets.  Unfortunately, if you knew the secrets (and their answers) you could maintain and grow your customer base, increase revenue per customer, and innovate in meaningful ways.

Starting today and in successive posts we’ll examine three (3) secrets and the keys to unlock those secrets:

  1. When they’re ready to leave
  2. What they need (wants vs. goals)
  3. Which other customers to target

When they’re ready to leave – When customers reach the point of leaving you for the competition they have decided they are no longer willing to invest (or waste) their time helping you create a solution.  In fact, they have actively and financially disengaged from your company.  In Influencer: The Power to Change Anything, the authors suggest that customers such as these have already answered no to one or both of these questions:   “Can I do it?” and “Is it worth it?”

Customer interactions run the gamut.

Extremely positive – customers actively participate by suggesting ways to modify your products/services (innovating) and then in advocating on your behalf (selling)

Extremely negative – customers are so upset with your company that they leave as fast as possible, convince others to leave and prevent new customers from even starting to do business with you.  (See more on the power of word of mouth.)

The solution?

Ask:

  • Are you satisfied?  Or would you purchase again?
  • How likely would you be to recommend to your friends/colleagues?  Yes, the famous (some say infamous) NetPromoter question returns again.  The value here is that answering in the affirmative requires the respondent to invest themselves.
  • Would you like someone from the company to contact you about your experience?

Observe:

  • Are survey response rates increasing (good) or decreasing (potentially bad).  A decrease in response rates is indicative of lower engagement and loyalty and could be a precursor to defection.
  • See which companies get feedback after good/bad experiences in this Temkin Group report.

Respond:

  • Companies that fail to respond nullify the survey itself.  They communicate an ambivalence of commitment.  In essence, we want to care (we’ve checked the box), but our inaction should tell you that we don’t.

Customers are the lifeblood of any company.  Lose them and the revenue stream gets disrupted.  So it stands to reason that companies should invest in serving their customers’ needs.  The pivot point in unlocking when customers are ready to leave is to simply ask.  Not all customers will tell you but as Wayne Gretzky once said, “you miss 100% of the shots you never take.”

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Posted in Customer Loyalty, Customer Service

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Fundamentals for the Greatest Possible ROI

Posted on 6 September 2011 by | Leave a comment

An uncontroversial definition says that a company’s purpose is to generate wealth for shareholders.  But shareholders would actually prefer the greatest possible ROI.    Organizations that develop teams and processes that focus on customers thrive in the face of various economic climates and fulfill the promise of maximized ROI.  Here are four necessary elements of a successful company:

  1. Employees – Employees aren’t as interchangeable as employers often believe.  Employers must match the skills and passions of people to the jobs that must be done.  Otherwise, all we do is use the wrong tool (in this case, human capital) for the job.
  2. Products – Products that meet customers’ needs, sold at a fair price can sustain a business.  The opposite is not true: businesses cannot be sustained by products that fail to meet customer needs.
  3. Communication – Epictetus is said to have remarked that “we have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”  This truism marks the beginning of communication.  Companies would do well to listen and do vs. ignore and delay.
  4. Leadership – Leadership will be either the beginning or the end of customer service.  An executive team that focuses on growth at the expense of customer experience risks a calamity and misses additional growth.

To be sure, companies can ignore customers and survive… for a time.  The pivot point is that by executing these four pillars simultaneously, by delivering a valuable customer experience, companies maximize the ROI.  Without one element, the stability suffers.  Without two or more, it’s more likely the company will topple and fail.

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Posted in Customer Service, Leadership

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