Do you know your customer?

I am sure everyone has heard one or both of these slogans before:

“The customer is king,”

and

“The customer is always right.”

The philosophy is that customer complaints should be taken seriously so they do not feel cheated or deceived. This attitude, however, places the customer at the end of the creation process, not at the core of it.

I challenge you to look at these two sayings from a different perspective:

• Instead of applying this philosophy at the end of the selling cycle, how about you start with it?
• Instead of making sure the customer is happy after he or she purchased a product or service, how about you create something with the customer’s needs and desires in mind?

Would this not ensure success?

The answer is YES!

This is not a new concept. There are many companies that do it already. Just look at Amazon or Intuit. These two are perfect examples of companies that place the client at the core. Successful companies create products that fulfill specific needs.

Instead of doing whatever it takes to make the customer happy when they are buying, how about we ask them instead of what they need? Wouldn’t that guarantee the success of our company and provide us all the arsenal we need for our marketing strategy?

Creating for a specific client will guarantee success. Receiving constant feedback from your client will help you improve your products and/or services and help you grow. While this may sound like a simple recipe to follow, most companies do not do it … especially not smaller ones.

How well do you know your client?

One of the first questions I ask my clients is, “What is the profile of your client?” With a couple of exceptions, most of them have no idea. They say anyone can be their client, but when I ask them to describe this “anyone” to me, they feel lost.

How can you create for someone you cannot define? I challenge you to start saying, “the customer is the king” when you think about opening your own company. Start talking with them, find out who they are, what they like and don’t like, what they need, and how they spend their free time.

The answer to the above questions will not only help you perfect your product and strategy but also how to market it. Furthermore, these answers will identify your customer database. Imagine that: to already have clients, even if your product is not yet ready.

Crowdfunding websites are a good example. Entrepreneurs are testing their products and raising money at the same time. This is both wonderful and smart!

By placing your client at the core, you will automatically know:

• How to meet their needs.
• How to reach them (the platforms they are on).
• How to talk with them (what type of content to provide).
• How they spend their money (how to package your product and/or service to make it attractive).
• How to make them your advocate (provide them with an amazing experience and they will share it with their friends and family).

You are changing the selling process by creating for your clients, as opposed to convincing them to buy. Instead of inviting people into your store or office, they will be the ones asking for your time and attention. Rather than spending big bucks on advertising campaigns, you will have all the information you need to create and execute highly targeted, yet low budget, marketing campaigns.

Start creating for the client. Make him or her the center of your company, and change the meaning of the “customer is always right” slogan.

Think of it as a big puzzle. First, you find the frame and then you start filling in the middle. The frame is your knowledge base, expertise, and customer. Once you have the outline, you can start piecing together the middle, which is the product or service.

We created a Human-Centric Avatar Form to help you identify your client's profiles. Check out our Resources page and download it for free.