Stay Relevant-Why (1 of 2 parts)

4 reasons WHY businesses need to stay relevant to their customers (1 of 2 parts)

The majority of companies that measure customer feedback do exactly that – they just measure. As I’ve said before, data for data’s sake doesn’t help anyone.

It’s incredibly rare that organisations really get into the real nitty gritty of listening to their customers. Why? Well, like in any aspect of our lives, receiving negative feedback about ourselves can be a bitter pill to swallow. The human condition leaves us prone to defensiveness. Businesses don’t like receiving bad news any more than individuals do.

Here, I want to explore why collating and interpreting customer feedback will help your business stay relevant.

1)  It’s easy to lose sight of your customer as your business scales up

As companies scale and mature, there can be a growing disconnect between the organisation and its values and objectives, and the client. This is mainly due to silo mentality, buck passing and failure of all departments to work as one cohesive business unit with a common goal. Internal politics, and ‘their fault, your fault, not my problem” attitudes are the antithesis of the joined-up thinking and behaviour that must be in place to ensure great CX. Customer experience is everyone’s problem, it’s every department’s responsibility and whether your staff are directly customer facing or not – your business *is* your customers. Never lose sight of that, no matter how big you become.

2)  Your customer’s needs are always changing, so you always need to be adapting

Client/customer needs are evolving rapidly, they change faster and faster and it is more important now than ever to keep your customer close and to listen to them in order to understand them. You cannot remain relevant to your customer’s wants and needs if you don’t know what they are.

3)  The competition is getting hotter

Small, nimble, hungry new businesses are usually more able (and willing) to compete, and customer experience is a differentiator where smaller-scale, more personal service can actually be an advantage. If they have to keep up with major players, they often need to work harder, faster and smarter, and in today’s global marketplace you are no longer competing with your immediate neighbours. The business world isn’t called a global village by accident.

4) Let those who have failed provide the lessons

The logos in the image accompanying this blog should provide an example of what happens when you don’t listen and remain relevant to your customer’s needs. Being slow to respond to customer feedback, forgetting the art of humility and failing to respond to market changes and reinvent themselves led to the demise of these brands. Don’t be one of those businesses – find out how you need to change to remain relevant, or risk becoming irrelevant and the liquidators will be one step behind you.