Learn from the past, capitalize on success

At the end of 2008, in Shorten the sales cycle next year:  Year end marketing planning, I advocated taking stock of what worked and what didn’t—so that you can capitalize on your successes and avoid repeating what turned out to be mistakes.   In particular, I suggested focusing on buyers’ perceptions in four areas: the desirability of the solutions, the reputation of the vendor, the effectiveness of the communications, and the responsiveness of the individuals leading the sales or business development effort.

Sales enablement software prods companies to focus on customers’ buying process

Two years later, few companies do the kind of structured analysis I recommended on an ongoing basis.  Yet, prodded by their acquisition of sales enablement software, many more companies are beginning down this path.

They’re developing buyer personas (based on past experiences) and mapping their best customers’ buying processes to identify points where they can influence the ultimate outcome of the sale. So, we’re making progress.

Product teams incorporate customer feedback throughout the development process

On the product development front, product teams are increasingly using a process called “customer development” that calls for learning and iterating rather than linear execution.  This methodology, introduced by Steve Blank in the Four Steps to the Epiphany, and popularized by Eric Ries among others, advocates using minimally viable products (prototypes) to gather customer feedback throughout the development process.  This methodology also requires developers to validate the product market fit–before they launch new products–by finding early customers who will pay for the product under development.

Strategy trumps tactics

Last year, I questioned the seeming emphasis on demand generation and lead gen–at the expense of longer term strategic investments.  At the time, the economy was at its worst and  a lot of companies felt they couldn’t afford to invest in gaining deep customer insights.

Today, with increasing competition, many realize they can’t afford not to invest in learning about their best prospects’ buying processes.  Moreover, automation has dramatically reduced the cost of gaining deep customers insights.  No longer do companies need to invest a lot of money in travel or convening a group of users at a common location to get deep customer insights.  In fact, they have lots of relatively inexpensive options for doing so:  social media, online communities, web analytics, online marketing research, and online usability tests to name a few.

Automation prompts strategic thinking–and makes it affordable

Each of these avenues is:

• relatively inexpensive to administer (the bits travel, the administrators stay put),

• offers greater reach and access than more traditional research methods (anyone with an Internet connection can participate), and is

• more usable (automated tools for compiling and analyzing the data each creates are now accessible the non-statistician).

In fact, one of the experts I interviewed for a blog post, pointed out that digital marketing, by making it so easy to relate behavior to outcomes, has opened the door to strategy.

Customer research has crossed the chasm

I ended last year by asking, “Will 2010 be the year of the customer?”.   Twelve months later, I think it’s safe to say that we’ve crossed the chasm–and that we’re definitely marching in that direction.

Too bad I couldn’t locate that crystal ball.  I’m wondering what the future holds….

Related posts:

1. What are your marketing priorities for 2010?
2. The future of marketing will be all about customer data
3. Inbound marketing starts with deep customer insights
4. Price or customer experience–which matters more?

What happened to the focus on the customer?

The irony is that gaining deeper insights into customer, or prospect needs, rarely shows up as a priority, let alone a high priority. Why not?

Is it because investments in gaining customer knowledge are not of interest to those doing the surveys? Or, do researchers assume that everyone knows all they need to know about customers?

Or, is the assumption that some form of marketing research, win/loss analysis, or customer data mining is an integral part of any marketing campaign–and therefore does not need singling out? Or, do researchers know from past experience, that while everyone realizes gaining customer insights is important, it’s not a primary focus or one in which companies invest heavily?

I don’t know the answer. I do know that while many companies do invest in learning more about their customers, others feel that they know enough–and/or cannot afford to learn more. The question is can any of us afford not to delve deeper into what matters most to those we depend on for revenues?

Isn’t customer knowledge power?

The devil is often in the details–and nuances in capabilities and/or messaging can make a tremendous difference. That’s why it’s not uncommon for consumer goods marketers, the messaging masters, to invest 10% of the anticipated cost of any marketing campaign in upfront marketing research.

Moreover, we all know of “first movers” that lost the race because they didn’t move down the learning curve. Instead, competitors pulled ahead by making slight, but significant modifications to the core offering or message.

Is everyone focused solely on lead gen?

From reading the marketing trade press, one gets the impression that a lot of companies do believe that deep customer insights drive sales.  These companies are investing in:

• Data mining tools that will help them pinpoint their most promising prospects and understand exactly what helped win their business
• Social communities that help assess the desirability of products and marketing messages before committing to their delivery
• Usability testing to find and remove product design elements that get in customers’ way
• Social media listening tools that enable marketers to determine where audiences turn for information–and what communications resonate most with them–before jumping in the fray
• Marketing campaign software that includes the ability to monitor conversions and determine what worked–and what didn’t
• Sales enablement solutions that make it easy to create and test responses to alternative lists, messages, and offers

Gaining deep customer insights doesn’t need to be expensive

Investments in increasing customer intimacy are not limited to large companies.  While many smaller companies may not have the financial or human resources to invest in the automated listening tools listed above, they have other options at their disposal.

Many of our clients gain deep insights by easy-to-administer programs such as:

• Using free social media listening tools to monitor market trends, conversations about the need for the solutions their companies offer, and any mention of their name and/or their competition’s
• Interviewing customers and prospects to learn about the steps these individuals took before making a recent purchase decision–and what triggered these actions
• Developing case studies about the benefits that satisfied customers derived from their solutions
• Following customers, and those who influence decisions about their products and services, on Twitter

The question, however, isn’t what others are doing, but what you’re doing. Will this be the year of the customer for your business?

Ready to start today? Test your customer IQ now!

Related posts:

1. Customer research makes gains in 2010