Why a Customer-First Mindset Rules
All really successful businesses are predicated on a customer-first mindset!
Okay, yes, I know that’s not technically true. It kind of is though… I ask you to please note that I did qualify that statement with “really successful businesses.” So, I’m excluding that jerk landlord, the about to go out of business dry cleaner who ruined your shirt, and the several dozen multimillion dollar corporations teetering on the brink.
When we talk about those wildly successful and often disruptive companies that make many of us turn green with envy, though, a customer-first mindset does seem to be the common denominator.
Imbuing your business with the deep-seated belief that everybody in your company, including you, is striving to ensure that your customers experience something of real value (and something they want to come back for) goes a long way toward ensuring success.
And while this obviously applies to customer service, vendor relations and corporate culture (because employees are customers too), nowhere is it more important than in developing and refining the product or service you offer.
EASIER SAID THAN DONE?
Putting yourself in a customer-first frame of mind can be really, really, really hard. It doesn’t matter who you are — a brash young startup, a small business with some off the hook idea, or even a large, well-established corporation looking to push past the incremental improvements that have sustained your business to date — getting out of your own way may be one of the hardest things you have to do.
When it comes to our services and our products, many of us are overprotective parents. We had a vision. We took that vision and created something wonderful for the world. And because we did that we know, deep in our hearts, that the world MUST want what we created since it’s so special!
Don’t you find it odd, that resistance many of us show when it comes to product development? Why is it not okay for people to not want what we sell?
I mean, chances are that if you’re over 15 years old, have internet access and are reading this or anything else online you’ve had plenty of exposure to basic psychology. You understand what boundaries are and even have some of your own. You know that you are a separate person with individual needs and wants that are different from others. When you want a roast beef sandwich and your teammate wants tuna salad, you’re good with it. So what’s with your new product?
➩ IMPORTANT TIP: A customer saying they don’t want to use your product like you want them to is just their way of asking for tuna salad.
YOU’VE JUST GOTTA LET IT GO
Not everybody is wearing the same pair of rose colored glasses that you are. Our “must haves,” our “so cool” and “totally sick” bells, whistles and whatevers are often greeted with quizzical looks and “hell to the no!” from the very people we believed would benefit the most. It’s something pretty much all businesses have to face at some point. And, that is good because it forces change.
When a customer’s vision differs from ours, we all have basically two choices: we can either take our ball and bat and scurry off muttering about wrong time, wrong place and all the other ways we have been victimized. Or, we can breathe, regroup and start to really listen. When potential customers say “are you kidding?” and “no way” they are offering up valuable information. They are gifting us the opportunity to ask “Why?”
It’s hard to let go of your baby, particularly when it comes to your products and services, but it’s important to know when it’s time to move on.
TOPICS ON DECK
So, this month we’re going to take a look at services and products from a customer-first mindset. We’ll focus on why we have to take certain steps and jump off of certain cliffs in order to move past our disappointments and create success (with just a dash of how-to thrown in for good measure).
➩ THE MVP/S: Why is it important?
Developing a Minimum Viable Product/Service (MVP/S) forces you to focus on the needs of your customers. Furthermore, getting out the door with a few key features provides you with a real-life tool to measure and evaluate how your vision dovetails with your customers’ before you’ve gone too far down the rabbit hole.
➩ THE “LEAN” WORLD and all its many variations
With roots going back to the Toyota Production System developed by Taiichi Ohno and Eiji Toyoda in the mid-1900s, lean thinking focuses on value for the customers and perfection of process. The lean world has expanded beyond manufacturing to encompass logistics, healthcare, government and many other industries and services.
➩ THE INTRAPRENEUR
Intrapreneurs, more than company go-getters, share many of the same traits as entrepreneurs: flexible thinking and the ability and willingness to change direction when necessary. And although their focus is narrower, intrapreneurs often face the added challenge of battling company culture even when their company supports and encourages them.
#RogueNotions
Originally published at RogueNotion.com
