The Real Secret When asked by young entrepreneurs what the secret to success is, I used to say knowing how to sell. But after a few years of riding the roller coaster of crazy business cycles, I answered that knowing how to mitigate risk was the secret. But, I was wrong. While both are critical to your success, the real secret is: listening to your customers instead of yourself. Over the past few years, I’ve had the opportunity to interview and survey over 100,000 customers. As I have listened and observed, I came to the realization that while many companies still operate like they have control, it’s really the other way around. I began to refer to these empowered customers as “Customer CEO” because they can choose which companies to do business with completely on their own terms. can successfully engage them. Customers are now in control because of the free flow of information. Technology means companies can no longer control what people know about anything. There are no secrets. Knowing your Customer CEO is like being on roller coaster. One minute you can see what’s just ahead but then, without warning, the bottom can drop out. Customers are competitive, calculating, complicated, confusing, crazy and caustic. At the same time, upstart businesses seem to be popping up every day. This reality means commoditization, price wars, and shrinking value for stakeholders. This is both confusing and challenging because the rules have changed forever. And you must put the power of the customer to work for you before your competitors harness that power for themselves. Many CEO’s and business owners say they aren’t sure how to met the needs of today’s demanding customers. They reluctantly admit that the customer is in charge but they don’t know how to change. The default position for many is to do nothing and hope that business changes back or somehow becomes easier. Sadly, hope is not a successful strategy. Here are four fast steps to get you on the road to understanding your Customer CEO: 1) Get a clue. This literally means you must become, or appoint, a Chief Listening and Understanding Executive. There is no higher priority to help you navigate the crowded, choppy seas of the marketplace. 2) Listen to customers’ ideas about everything. Remember that every day you aren’t actively engaged in listening, is an opportunity for your competitors. Someone, somewhere is listening to your customers right now in order to steal from you. 3) Quit expecting to find the answers in Big Data alone. Big Data is not a panacea. It is just a reflection of what people have done. It’s the “what.” Most enterprises, no matter the size, can’t effectively manage the tsunami of data filling their servers. Use it cautiously because it will not tell you why people do the things they do. 4) Discover the why in Big Insight. If you ask the right people the right questions you’ll often be shocked at how wrong you have been about what’s really important to them. In a dynamic market, customer attitudes and needs constantly shift. You can only do that be getting up close and personal with them. Congratulations, you now know the secret to business success you’ve been waiting for. All you have to do is start listening to customers like never before.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 18:06:16 +0000
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