There was a point in my career where I had made a move to a totally new (to me) industry and I was dead set on making my mark. On a mission to unveil an innovative solution to a well-known consumer problem, I knew two things for sure: 1. If successful, I would be part of a team responsible for groundbreaking innovation and 2. I would have cemented my worth and value at the company.
What didn’t cross my mind at the time was what could go wrong. In an early test of a new product, we found out the hard way that while extremely successful in the problem we were aiming to solve, a new and much bigger problem for the user would result. Please allow me to keep the details confidential but trust me when I say that we were very fortunate to be able to reverse it in time.
Looking back now, our goal was to find a physical solution to an emotional consumer problem - confidence. But I wasn’t putting myself in the consumer’s shoes at all. I wasn’t striving for emotional intimacy or true empathy and that’s why the brilliant ‘breakthrough’ idea failed completely.
At the risk of sounding cliche, I will tell you this experience changed me. Many years later, I still come back to it regularly. My eyes were opened to all the times that the actual consumer came second when solving a consumer problem! Once you’ve been touched by the end user in your story, you can never go back to thinking about yourself first. That’s when your work really begins. At least that was when mine did.
Here are the top 4 lessons I’ve learned in customer-centricity along the way. I commit to coming back to these every time a new challenge arises.
Many businesses exist to resolve customer problems but without customer proximity, empathy, and relatability, you are doing your customer a disservice. People crave connection and understanding, so earning their trust is step one. This is your opportunity to listen well and understand what truly matters to them.
Empathy is logical, physical and emotional. That means showing that you understand where your customer is currently at, that you physically feel their need, and can emotionally connect to the problem and how they feel about it. This is, of course, easier said than done - make it a lifelong practice.
This is a personal choice that everyone in the value chain has to make. At some point in time, questions will come down the line and challenge your ability to stick with what you know the customer needs. The proposed solution might be too difficult, too expensive, take too long, deviate from the standard price model, or any of a slew of other road blocks.
There will always be business reasons to push you towards your own agenda. Commit to solving the customer’s problem as your primary focus, or you may no longer be positioned for success.
It’s a humbling realization to understand that compromise is often inevitable. In the story above, I’m talking about compromising on features that might be great and excite the consumer, but aren’t as feasible or accessible as the core solution. Sometimes we can’t solve everything at once, but we can take them closer than they’ve ever been.
This is where the consumer needs to feel your understanding. They need to feel you relating to them. They need to feel the trust you’ve worked hard to build a solution for them. Then, whether you’re solving all their problems up front, or just problem number one, they’re going to continue on the journey with you.
People wanted the possibility to communicate from their home with people in another home, so telephones were created. Evolving technology allowed for a new solution to their communication problem. Later, people expressed an inconvenience in having to stay put while having phone conversations, so the wireless home phone was created to allow for a more convenient phone experience. Further down the road, people expressed a need for mobility and conversations on-the go, so mobile phones solved the mobility problem. Once the mobile platform was created, people’s appetite for doing things wherever/whenever opened the door to today’s mobile experience. You see what I’m getting at.
The theme here is that magic happens when you connect a consumer need, articulated or not, with a technology that can help address it. Just don’t put your business needs ahead of your customer needs. People want solutions. It’s your job to deliver against them and make a business out of it, not theirs. That’s the long and short of it.
Customer centricity should be in the DNA of your business. When you earn your customers’ trust and put yourself in their shoes, you are set up to foster and co-create a positive experience at every stage in the customer journey.
For more info/questions about this topic or business transformation in general, please reach out to us at accelerate@growthride.com. We’re always grateful to keep the conversation going!
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