Understanding customer decisions requires deeper exploration. We love Hannah Shamji’s chart and post, which explores the real reasons deals are lost. The causes are usually deeper and more complex than they seem, and customers might not even realize them. Changing prices won't fix the core problems–uncovering the root causes behind customer churn or failed deals is essential. Check out her post: https://lnkd.in/gWRjCZM4 We built on her levels of reality: 1. What we tell others. 2. What we tell ourselves. 3. What actually happened. 4. Why we make choices. Relying only on what customers say (Level 1) is ineffective. The real insights lie in understanding Levels 2 and 3, which require asking the right questions. We’ve added Level 4 to highlight the goal of understanding why it is happening. She highlights that companies often struggle to diagnose these issues, and bringing in an unbiased third-party researcher can help uncover the unfiltered truth. Though it may be uncomfortable, each loss provides valuable lessons for improving future strategies. Helio is an excellent tool for uncovering the reasons behind behaviors by gathering feedback in go-to-market scenarios. It offers activity questions that help you understand the actions your target audience is taking. #uxresearch #productdiscovery #marketresearch #productdesign
Here are some useful links. Understanding customers involves more than data—empathy and cultural awareness are needed. Useful methods include studying customer preferences through data and listening to customers' wants. Tools like RFM for grouping customers and Voice-of-the-Customer frameworks help you better understand their behavior and preferences. You Need More Than Data to Understand Your Customers, by Dr. Marcus Collins https://hbr.org/2023/12/you-need-more-than-data-to-understand-your-customers Understanding Customer Needs, by Infoteam Consulting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C-2v99paQM Understanding customers’ preferences through data: A Starbucks marketing campaign analysis, by Lucas Maretti https://medium.com/@lucasmaretti/9f4d0c056144 “Steve Jobs Didn’t Listen to Customers” (But You Should), by Ashley McClelland https://medium.com/@ashleyr0se/-ee6ab2113de1 Customer Segmentation with RFM, By Berkin Bahar https://medium.com/@berkinbahar11/customer-segmentation-with-rfm-c8e09f7a95e2 What's your Voice-of-the-Customer framework look like? (Do you have one?), by Mike Gospe https://www.linkedin.com/pulse
Your Go-To-Market messaging is crucial for effectively communicating and attracting customers to your business. Even if you have an innovative product and a fantastic team, your efforts could be better with clear messaging that resonates with both marketing and sales. Early-stage founders often handle sales themselves and excel at understanding what resonates with prospects during direct conversations. They know the nuances of what works and what doesn’t. However, turning this effective sales messaging into compelling marketing content can be difficult. Anthony Pierri 🎸 points out a common problem, especially for startups– there's often a big gap between the messaging used in sales calls and what's shown in marketing materials like the company's homepage. https://helio.app/blog/gtm-messaging/
Love this thinking Hannah Shamji! "If you don't take the time to uncover the root cause, you'll be spinning your wheels trying to fix your pricing when the core problem is something else entirely." Oh, but we need to go faster... Your post contains lots of great ideas. Thanks for the inspiration!
Sometimes what they say is not what they do ... All we know, but stakeholders don't want to know, surveying is the first round, also observing people, to establish patterns and trends in order to know why, but costs money, time and effort.
Hi Bryan, thanks for sharing Hannah Shamji post! It is great!
True 👌🏻understanding customers requires digging deeper than just listening to what they say.
Actually, to understand the 4th level you need to be with the customer (aka direct observation) because we talk about understanding embeded mechanism within the customer. In survey panel you can neither observe nor expirience with the customer how they operate. No big data is able to give us the answer on "why" question.