What Do Customers Think?
We were recently hired by two very different companies whose different needs held one common connection. One company wanted to overhaul all branding and marketing efforts while the other wanted to improve customer engagement within an online portal, but they both needed to first understand customer needs and perception.
We have a comprehensive process for digging to the root of who a customer is, what that customer perceives, and what he or she truly wants from a particular company. As a top level overview, among other efforts, we:
- Gather the management team’s assumptions, both as a group and individually
- Interview frontline employees
- Interview customers and, if applicable, non-customers
- Gather extensive online intelligence
- Investigate competitors
- Conduct mystery shopping
Upon completion, we document our findings, carefully analyze results, and provide conclusions and recommendations.
It is particularly interesting when, as with these two recent assignments, some of the assumptions made by the management team don’t align with the perceptions and needs identified by customers. Even in these scenarios where management is partially wrong, they were right to seek outside counsel. And even validation of correct assumptions is valuable. Understanding the similarities and deviations in viewpoints uncovered and presented by an outside expert can empower a management team to better steer the direction and strategy so that company goals align with what customers desire.
So no matter how well you think you know your customers – their perception, their needs, and their process – you should get an accurate account from outside counsel before you invest budget and effort into any marketing efforts or new business offerings. Because being wrong can be expensive.
If you want to know what your customers think, contact us for consultation.
