The customer is always at the heart of sustainable business growth. The better that a business understands its customers’ needs, wishes and challenges, the easier it is to develop products and services that genuinely solve customers’ problems and provide them with added value.
Building customer insight does not require any major investments – it can start from simple questions:
- Who are our customers?
- What can we do to help our customers be more successful, i.e. what added value can we bring to our customers?
- What do customers value most about our activities and products/services?
- What are the things that make them come back or recommend us to others?
Customer discussions, feedback surveys and direct observation are valuable tools for deepening your insight. As customer insight increases, it becomes easier to productise services clearly: to make them easy to purchase, understandable and distinctive. A well-productised service or product clearly indicates what the customer gets, what it costs and how it solves the customer’s problem or need. Productisation makes sales easier and creates consistency in marketing, customer service and business development.
By listening to your customers and meeting their needs, you can build a foundation for long-term customer relationships – and, by extension, sustainable growth.