I think this is at the heart of making marketing more meaningful--not just meeting expectations, but blowing them out of the water. I love that there is so much focus on listening to customers. But I wish there was as much attention among marketers on how to do it. In other words, how to interpret and then act on it. I have simplified this to three basic scenarios for customer listening based on what a marketer is trying to do.
Serving Customer Needs
What do customers like about a product? What isn't working? What features are they asking for? What are they complaining about? Even the mere act of creating a place for customers to express their opinions is important to respecting them. People who generously give of their own time to let you know insights about your product as they use it deserve to be heard. Part of building a relationship with them is hearing their feedback, acting on it and making sure they know it.
Creating Communications
I worked with a great consumer marketer who insisted on starting all marketing communications with a guiding customer insight. She defined it as: a forward-looking, fundamental truth that connects with your customers and your brand. The guiding insight is informed from customer research, as well as a connection to a brand's promise.
The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is such a perfect example. Dove's history of natural ingredients fit beautifully with the insight they surfaced that many women have insecurities about airbrushed ideals of beauty everywhere in magazines, movies and more.
The guiding insight is where customer research turns the corner into communications strategy and planning. A guiding insight is based on something we choose from a multitude of things we hear. Across all three of these scenarios, the voice of the customer is such an important input and part of the joy of what we do, but customers won't do our jobs for us. That's why we're here.
Serving Customer Needs
What do customers like about a product? What isn't working? What features are they asking for? What are they complaining about? Even the mere act of creating a place for customers to express their opinions is important to respecting them. People who generously give of their own time to let you know insights about your product as they use it deserve to be heard. Part of building a relationship with them is hearing their feedback, acting on it and making sure they know it.
Creating Communications
I worked with a great consumer marketer who insisted on starting all marketing communications with a guiding customer insight. She defined it as: a forward-looking, fundamental truth that connects with your customers and your brand. The guiding insight is informed from customer research, as well as a connection to a brand's promise.
The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is such a perfect example. Dove's history of natural ingredients fit beautifully with the insight they surfaced that many women have insecurities about airbrushed ideals of beauty everywhere in magazines, movies and more.
The guiding insight is where customer research turns the corner into communications strategy and planning. A guiding insight is based on something we choose from a multitude of things we hear. Across all three of these scenarios, the voice of the customer is such an important input and part of the joy of what we do, but customers won't do our jobs for us. That's why we're here.
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