Know Your Customer
Understand customers' needs and perspectives, act as their advocate within your organization, and focus on long-term win-win relationships rather than short-term gains.
THE IDEA
Know Your Customer
Considering external factors includes understanding what customers need and adapting to this as required. Alan Paterson explains:
‘I've always enjoyed working in sales and marketing because it's a role where I am “on the front line” of the business. I enjoy meeting existing and potential new customers to find out what they want. I get a great deal of pride and satisfaction if I can match people up with an offer that will create a win/win. On this point, I learned very early on to be mindful of going for a quick sale because if you sell something that a customer later thinks is not right, it can backfire on you in the long run.
A role I have learned to take up when necessary has been to work with colleagues internally to be a “voice of the customer” back to them. This has meant working to adjust or change plans when I was certain it could adversely affect our relationship with the customer. Often my role has been to “fight their corner” when some might have been tempted to downplay these external factors. Here I believe a key ingredient of being successful in business is to see what things look like from the other side of the table. This is important so you can consider concerns seriously and gauge when you might be pushing things too far.
Running a business for the long term is about seeing customers as real, equal people whose interests must be kept front and centre. Of course, we won't always get that right, but the critical bit is not to go into a defensive mode automatically or “what does the contract say,” but rather to try to see it from their side and create a mutually beneficial way forward even in the tough times. When you accept that other customers and companies are free to move their business and cannot be controlled, you realise it's all about getting an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding.
This approach has served us well in the recent COVID‐19 pandemic, which significantly impacted some of our customers and business partners and their customers in turn. We saw the sorts of pressures that people would be put under because of lockdowns, and rather than waiting to be asked, we started to work on a series of “no need to ask” offers that were likely to be helpful to our customers. These initiatives recognised the pressures on others and created an opportunity for staying in contact with our customers and offering tailored support to meet specific needs or concerns.'
When to use it
Sales negotiations where understanding customer pain points leads to a win-win outcome.
Product development decisions that balance internal goals with customer satisfaction.
Customer service recovery after a mistake, focusing on mutual respect rather than contractual obligations.
Strategic planning to anticipate market shifts and proactively support customers.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
COVID-19 Support Initiative
During the pandemic, Paterson's company proactively created 'no need to ask' offers to support customers affected by lockdowns, anticipating their needs rather than waiting to be asked.
Voice of the Customer in Product Development
A product manager advocates internally for customer needs, adjusting plans to avoid features that would harm long-term customer relationships.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
How can you be a 'voice of the customer' in your own organization, especially when plans might negatively affect clients?
Think of a time you prioritized a quick sale. What was the long-term impact on the customer relationship?
What would a 'no need to ask' offer look like for your customers in a time of crisis?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Beyond the Five Whys Root Cause Analysis and Systems Thinking (James C. Paterson)