Your customers may well be your most important asset, and if you’re not listening to them, you’re likely limiting your company’s growth much more than you think.
That’s one of the premises behind “Running Lean: Iterate from Plan A to a Plan That Works,” a new book by Ash Maurya that looks at customer collaboration and product development.
Customers know what’s best about your product – and what needs fixing – possibly even better than you do. And they also may have a good idea about what’s missing from the market, again perhaps better than you. The insights you can glean from listening to your customers could turn out to change your business.
Your customers could also tell you the “why” behind data points and trends, and they may be more objective than you, your staff, friends and family. And giving customers a preview of products under development could also generate buzz and advance sales.
If you’re worried about the statistical significance of getting feedback from just a handful of customers, think about this: if 10 people all say the same thing, they may be right.
Adapted from Eight Myths About Customer Collaboration at Baseline Magazine.