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The best businesses regularly collect information from their customers, and use that information to improve their product and service offerings.  These businesses realize that the customer is king, and it is imperative to render unto the king what he wants, when he wants it.  Information collected from the customer is the blueprint for doing just that.

A successful business must have a clear idea of what it hopes to accomplish with the information it gathers from its customers, and it must view this process through the customers’ eyes, not its own.  If a business is collecting names, addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses simply for the purpose of barraging its customers with marketing materials and telemarketing calls, then this accumulation of information is really self-serving for that business.  No hiding behind a wall of statements such as “We want to keep you informed of useful new product offerings!” will change that.

And if you are collecting customer contact information with an eye toward selling that information to other businesses, shame on you.  There has got to be a better way for you to make a buck than by selling out your customers!  Again, simply view this action through the customers’ eyes; put yourself in his or her shoes.   Do any of us really need more junk mail?   More spam email?  More dinnertime telemarketing calls?  Frankly, no.  You can’t even watch a 30-minute television program without being hit with 12 minutes worth of commercial advertisements.  Customers are constantly being bombarded with useless information.  Make it a point not to add to that mess!

The collection of customer information should be similar to the information you have gathered over the years about your friends and family.  Yes, you have their addresses and phone numbers, but are you constantly showering them with calls and letters and emails?  If so, you probably are not going to be friends or close family for much longer.  You should strive to amass information in an unobtrusive manner, so the customer doesn’t even notice.  You discover their likes and dislikes.  You recognize what is special to them.  You learn their birthday and what holidays they celebrate.  You find out if they have children and/or pets.  Therefore, you understand when it’s appropriate to contact them, to congratulate them, and you know what type of product or service is likely to appeal to them.

Building customers profiles based on this kind of information allows you to better serve individual customers as well as to spot large trends in your customer base.  It allows you to gear your message so that it speaks to the interests of your customers.  Remember, your business is not about your product or service – it is about what your product or service can do to enhance the life of your customers.  And your customers are the lifeblood of your business, so it behooves you to treat them with the same sensitivity that you would treat your friends and family.

So how do you get this valuable information from your customers?  You pay attention to them, and you ask them questions and listen to their answers, same as you would your friends and family.  You don’t ask them everything all at once.  You don’t interrogate your friends, do you?  Over the course of time, you observe their buying habits, and their preferences – a good CRM system will provide this information for you - and every once in a while, you take the opportunity to ask some pertinent questions about those preferences.

Once you have this information, what do you do with it?  Well, you’d better do something visible with it, or else customers are not going to be inclined to give you any more of this valuable resource.   More than likely, they’ll give it to one of your competitors.  If a large percentage of your customers think the small red widget is pretty good, but just a little too small, then make one that’s a bit bigger.  Then announce that this development is due to consumer demand – hey customers, we heard what you’re saying and we acted on it!  Trumpet the fact that it’s because of them that new options are available, and thank them for their input.  They will be impressed by your business’ capacity to ask the right questions and proactively respond to their answers.

Be forewarned: asking customers for information and opinions and not visibly using it is a recipe for resentment.  Frankly, it is better not to ask for any information at all from your customers unless you have a well thought-out plan for using the information you collect. 

Many companies are great at asking its customers how they could improve their product and service offerings, but not so great at actually implementing changes. If the change requires significant time, effort, and resources, they trip over themselves with internal meetings and discussions.  What department will “own” the project?  What people will work on it, and who will cover those people’s regular duties while they worked on this project?  How can marketing best leverage this change for maximum impact?  How are we financing this project so it does not negatively impact our bottom line?   The paralysis of analysis!

Of course, none of these internal issues concerns the customer.  It is up to businesses to resolve these issues on the fly and get on with the important work, which is giving the customer what he or she wants.  If you don’t put the customers’ suggestions into action, at least give them an honest reason why you haven’t.  Otherwise, to them, it looks like you are ignoring them.  Studies have shown that feeling ignored is the primary reason for customers moving on to different vendors.   Before you know it, your plan for gathering information to better serve your customers has, in fact, driven many of them away.

 Please, do not ignore your customers.  Instead, get to know them.  Don’t crowd them, don’t overwhelm them, and, above all, do not betray their trust.   Once trust is lost, it is nearly impossible to regain.  Never lose sight of the fact that you’re dealing with people here, so treat them the way you treat your favorite people, with courtesy, respect, and understanding.  Use the information you gather from them to provide better products and services for them.  This is not a quick-fix strategy, but a strategy that will pay off for you in the long run.  Done correctly, it will pay off.

by Charles E. Dennis

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