If there’s one piece of advice…
What is the most important thing you can do to propel your business forward?
Speak to your customer.
I used to work closely with Suntory who is one of the biggest FMCG holding companies in the world. Here I worked across their big legacy brands and also in their pipeline of innovation designing and building the challenger brands that would one day go on to become the household names of tomorrow.
Regardless of whether I was working with big budgets or we had teeny, tiny marketing spends the same philosophy was followed:
Gemba: The closer you are to the customer the better decision you make.
Thinking customers first will allow you to properly understand what they love or dislike about your brand/product, where the friction points are, and what you need to focus on.
This was something that Huel (a nutritionally balanced food replacement brand) credited their massive success to (launched in 2015 and now valued at $1.25billion). This two-way dialogue allowed the brand to pivot on its initial understanding of the customer need and find a real unmet opportunity. It has also allowed them to create a really loyal customer base (who actually refer to themselves as Hooligans) who are now involved in helping steer the direction of NPD and what the brand should do next.
My advice would be to build this into your everyday weekly schedule. Dedicate time to picking up the phone and speaking to your customers- the ones that love you and the ones that don’t. And if you are stuck on what to ask, this is my starter for 10.
Why did you buy (insert product)?
What were you looking for?
What else were you considering?
What was important in your decision process?
What were the specific factors that meant that you chose (insert product) over (name competitors mentioned above)?
How did you find out about (insert product)?
What attracted you to (insert product)
What was the one thing that stood out?
What did you love about (insert product), how did it meet your needs?
What was missing/what would you like to see differently?
I would love to know how you are building a constant customer feedback loop into your business?