"What does your client think of you?"
"I don't know."
"What impact does your product have on your client's sales?
"I don't know."
"What do you bring to the customer's business?"
"I don't know."
I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.
This is the most common word I hear from businessmen, businesswomen and their salespeople when we discuss new corporate or business strategy and business processes together. They know a ton about their products. Logic. They often invented them themselves and have dedicated years of their lives to developing and improving them. But when it comes to what the customer thinks about the service, they are usually clueless.
It's not about whether the customer is satisfied with the service or product directly. It's their parameters. It's the price. That's not the problem. A dissatisfied customer will often rub the truth between your eyes. Or write an email. Or... Just won't keep it to themselves. A satisfied customer might write you a testimonial. How great you are and how great the product is.
It's more than that. It's about what the service brings to the other party from a "high-level" view of their business. What impact does it have on their sales and profit growth? Alternatively, how has our service saved the counterparty on their costs? How can our service or product make the other party stand out to their own clients? Simply, what impact do we have on the counterparty's business? That's looking at the whole forest, not the individual trees.
Example? You don't learn English to know English words and have perfect grammar. You learn English to get along with a foreign partner and, as a result, reach for new business opportunities. Right?
Knowing the answers to the above questions seems unnecessary to many. After all, it's their business. But understanding the impact of our products or services on a client's business has big implications for us.
As I've written before, you don't care about the client. Not in the way you think. The client is not buying your service. The client is buying a solution to their problem. The client is buying the impact of your service on their business.
Therefore, if you want to increase your business success, you should talk not only about the features of your product (especially with users), but also about its positive impacts on the counterparty (especially with decision makers).
"But how do we find out?"
This question blows my mind repeatedly. It's so simple ...
"Try asking them."
Your existing and satisfied customers. See what they say. And if you haven't done this exercise before, you'll be very surprised at the answers you'll get. I'd bet they'll be pretty far from what you yourself anticipated.
From then on, you won't be saying: "I think ...". From then on, you'll always realize that to think means... Sorry, that doesn't belong here.
Don't be afraid of your own customers. Don't be afraid to ask them in a human way. You'll see they won't fire you. On the contrary, they'll be delighted. They'll feel like they're doing you a favour. That's something very few people refuse to do. Maybe it'll even strengthen your existing relationship and you'll do more business together.
And even if they don't... the information you get will definitely help you understand what you're actually selling. Who you should be selling to and how. Adjust your presentations and shorten your sales processes. Jumpstart your business acceleration.
Get out among your customers today. It'll be great.
Fingers crossed and best wishes for success.