Today we have a guest blog from Elizabeth Andreini:
Sounds counterintuitive, doesn’t it? You should always listen to your
customers, right? Actually not always…
Many companies have a group of customers that are informally contacted
for feedback when considering development of new products or to validate changes
to their marketing approach. Other companies have customer advisory boards deliberately
composed of a diverse set of customers to solicit feedback in a more structured
manner and reconcile conflicting views and priorities. When developing add-on
or complementary products and services, focusing solely on existing customers
may be appropriate. But don’t make the mistake of confusing needs of your existing
customers with the needs of the market.
Customers have an inherently biased perspective of your company
and its product offerings. Existing customers are accustomed to the current
product’s capabilities and give feedback in the context of that experience.
Feedback from existing customers tends to be more evolutionary than
revolutionary, and focuses on incremental improvements based on their
familiarity with the current offering in existing markets. Existing customers
are much less effective at identifying new product offerings and new potential
markets. If the voice of the customer overwhelms that of the market, you run
the risk of being TOO tailored to one section of the market (your existing
customers). Companies need to keep their eyes on the whole market or new
offerings won’t sell as well as expected limiting revenue growth potential.
I once worked at a software company where our flagship customer
was collaborating with us on the next version of our main software product.
Just as we were about to move into a key phase of development, we shared detailed
development plans with a very large prospect. That prospect had a different set
of needs and priorities for the next product version. After further research, it
turned out that the customer’s needs were not only different but incompatible
with much of the market we were moving into. The company almost made a mistake
that would have cost us a number of prospective customers and delayed us
expanding our market share. It was a tough situation that could have been
avoided by making sure that we better understood the voice of the market as
well as the needs of our current customers upfront.
So, while listening to your customers is very important, don’t
fall into the trap of assuming customers’ needs are similar to the needs of the
whole market. A customer isn’t fully representative of the market. Invest time in
an ongoing basis to really listen and understand the voice of the entire
market. And remember, customers are not always
right.
ELIZABETH ANDREINI
As the
President of Accelerate Marketing, LLC, Elizabeth Andreini, is the “secret
weapon” CEOs turn to at key growth points when they need to transform marketing
and product management and grow it to the next level critical for revenue and
profitability. In addition to providing experienced executive insight and
guidance, Elizabeth often comes in as an interim CMO or VP to provide the
hands-on leadership needed to rearchitect marketing and product management and
improve execution from the inside.
Elizabeth Andreini, founder & president of Accelerate
Marketing, LLC
Accelerate Marketing, LLC
206-769-3420 or elizabeth@accelerate-marketing.com
Twitter: @acceler8mkting
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethandreini
