The customer is always right!

The phrase, “the customer is always right” is one of the few expressions that has stood the test of time.

In order to keep your customers happy regardless of the industry you’re in, or the product or service you are selling, you need to first understand their pain points and challenges before you can strategize to resolve them.

Today, we’ll explore different ways to garner insights from your customers on what they are struggling with and talk about how you can apply those methodologies to your overall business strategy.

Walk a mile in my shoes

In order to understand your customer needs, you first need to understand your customer holistically and put yourself in their shoes.

According to KLS training, there are four main factors that you need to identify when putting yourself in your customer’s shoes including, “identifying what market they are in, what would further help their customers, who their target customer is, and how that product or service meets the needs of that customer.”

Going through this exercise may help you identify some of their challenges immediately based on a particular industry.
For example, if you do any level of market research on what challenges distributors face you will often see common challenges such as freight delays, working with manufacturers that are behind on production, and the hassle of managing multiple supply channels.

Customers will respect you as a trusted partner if you take the time to invest and understand their business model holistically.

Methods of technology to gain feedback from your customers.

While doing some basic market research can serve as a pre-requisite to understanding your customer needs, there are also tools that you can use to gain feedback directly from the customer.

  • Online surveys
    First, you can use online surveys to gain insight on satisfaction around product updates if, say, you are a software company, or as a clothing company, you can get feedback on a list of different apparel you are preparing to launch to gauge which products you should be manufacturing in the largest quantity.

    With tools like Survey Monkey or Typeform, you can create a survey that can be sent out to your entire customer base within a matter of minutes. This will save you time and money.

    According to Smart Survey, “the time span needed to complete an online survey project is on average two-thirds shorter than that of traditional research methods.” Customers are also more willing to respond to surveys honestly because their submissions will typically be anonymous.

  • In-person interviews/ webinars
    Another method is to set up in-person events or focus groups to garner feedback from your customers. If you are a remote-based company, you can also host interactive webinars where guests can share comments and concerns.

    You can bring in a guest speaker for the event to talk about how they use your product or service personally.

    It is important to showcase your product or services advantages in your meeting, but also be willing to take constructive criticism by carving out a Q&A session of your event.

    In-person events can also strengthen the credibility of your organization to customers who are already satisfied with you and your organization. According to New Breed, in-person events are known to establish your organization as “an active member of your industry, build rapport and strengthen existing relationships, and strategically expand your professional network.” You can also use surveys within your in-person event and kill two birds with one stone!

Putting feedback into action!

Now that you have all of the necessary feedback from your customers, it is imperative that you act on that feedback. If you see 59% of your customers requesting one specific product update, schedule a meeting with your development team to see if that update can be made within the next year.

The worst thing you can do is ignore what is right in front of you. If you receive feedback that you need more clarification on, reach out to that customer directly for more information.
They’ll appreciate that you took the time and effort to understand their needs.

At jdp, we are experts at connecting businesses with their customers through their virtual environments. We can help you define your business’s strengths, and use the right tools to communicate them to your dream customers online.

To increase your opportunities, get in touch for a free 15-minute consultation.