Understand Your Customers – Don’t Listen To Them

You can’t listen to your customers. That’s the secret to fostering customer satisfaction.

Customers will always ask for “more”. More features, more options, more mockups, more more more. Listening to these requests will not create satisfaction because more features means more complexity, more options means more clutter, and more mockups means more waste and confusion. I don’t mean that you shouldn’t keep the communication channels open between you and your customers. I mean to ignore these requests ‘as is’ and focus on understanding your customers needs and behavior in order to create a better product, a better design, and provide a better service. Your customers will thank you for it and you’ll foster satisfaction.

Customers will always ask for something based on what they already know, or have already experienced. Then how can you offer a unique product or service and differentiate your company in your market pool if you listen to your customers requests? You’re better off sticking to what you believe is the right way, and improving based on the conclusions you draw from your customers feedback. Focus your efforts on understanding what will make your customers happy. There’s a good chance that it won’t be something they already know – otherwise why would they use your product over the existing competition?

Do you know what is the best way to understand your customers? Be your own customer! Use your products on a daily basis – you’ll be surprised how quickly and accurately you can improve your products. You’ll know what is important and what is secondary. Oh and if your own product is of no use to you, well, you may as well move on to another venture! Soon some other company will emerge in your market, and develop a similar product because they need it for themselves. And that product will outclass yours.

For example, if you are designing a website and you are looking to improve the navigation - don’t look at it for hours and brainstorm, don’t listen to the users requests, don’t ask around to see what other people will suggest. Just use the site everyday. Read through the pages, try to find specific information, use the features of the site. In short be a customer not a web designer. Most likely you’ll be able to find the best possible solution to your problem much more quickly.