The Hidden Power of Your Customers: Four Keys to Growing Your Business Through Existing Customers

YOUR CALL TO ACTION

We have covered a lot of ground in this book, so I think it's a good idea to take a quick look back to review where we have been and a look forward to where we are going.

It All Starts by Listening

One of the most important and fundamental steps we can take to tap into the hidden power of our customers is to make sure we have included them in our plans. We lay the foundation upon which to build our business from existing customers by listening to our customers; soliciting their input on their likes and dislikes, needs and wants; and listening to their conversations with each other when they talk about our products and services, as well as those of other companies.

Listening Action Steps

1. Set up customer listening posts or a voice-of-the-customer (VOC) program, if you haven't already.

2. Listen, to gather customer feedback; collect it from as many places as you can. Do so regularly.

3. Include your customer-facing employees in your listening process: They listen to customers, and you listen to employee feedback. These employees often know your customers best.

4. Determine the critical insights and take action on what you learn. Don't stop at sharing the information at quarterly meetings and then put it away; share it regularly, across the company, and as appropriate for each individual employee.

Determine the Customer Point of View

We need to take a fresh look at our business from the customer perspective. Based on what your customers are experiencing at ...