Shownotes – Where are the hassles your customers encounter when using the product or service you provide regardless of who they buy from AND what are the hassles they encounter when working with your organization?
If you can solve for these issues/hassles well, you’ll go far in creating a desirable customer experience.
When I start working with a new company, I ask them and their customers – where are we inconsistent? What hassles do you encounter when working with this company?
In a 2011 Fast Company article, Adrian Slywotzky suggests that mapping your customer’s hassles should be a top priority.
The best feedback comes out in conversations and sometimes it’s not the original premise or focal topic that provides the most insight.
Watching customers use the product in their everyday world will often glean much information they wouldn’t think to tell us about. You’ll notice their struggles where you know there shouldn’t be any. You may also be surprised to find some things you thought would be issues actually aren’t.
Identifying the hassles customers experience gives you an action plan.
Find a way to eliminate or reduce the hassle and you are already one step ahead of the competition and are endearing yourself to the customer.
How to eliminate hassles…
Work with your customers directly. Companies learn how customers approach the problem without making any assumptions. This allows company to develop better solutions, processes, and products on customer’s behalf.
Customer demands, the market, demographics, technology all drive the need to stay current and look for the next improvement to solve for.
So today, start asking yourselves… what are the hassles our customers have told us about? What can be done to eliminate them?
OR… when was the last time we asked customers what gives them a hassle about our products, company or industry?
Ask them. Your customers would love to tell you.