"Of all the skills of leadership, listening is the most valuable - and one of the least understood. Most captains of industry listen only sometimes, and they remain ordinary leaders. But a few, the great ones, never stop listening. That's how they get word before anyone else of unseen problems and opportunities."- Peter Nulty
When creating a new product or crafting a new offering, one of the most important factors to consider is the market – who is this product or service being targeted at? Many large organisations spend thousands, if not millions, on research in the hope of getting that one key piece of insight or intelligence that will give them the edge to provide a unique service or offering to their customers, some magical bit of information that they can find out before their competitors do, in order to gain an edge and win some share of the market.
What many organisations do not realise is that these methods, can sometimes be so cumbersome and complex that they are either close to impossible to implement operationally, or so long and drawn out that by the time they actually draw out the insight from their research efforts, the market has moved and their insights are no longer relevant. The question to ask is, is that effective? Perhaps, perhaps not... Many people who have grown up around families who ran successful businesses would concur that many businesses don’t have access to sophisticated research with fancy techniques. Many of them just employed the simple yet highly effective technique of listening to their customers. For a small business with limited funding, the time lag for highly scientific statistical research is a luxury or perhaps an unnecessary expense that simply cannot be afforded. I recently worked with a company who spent close to R3million on a research project only for it to remain as a project that became impossible to implement operationally due to gaps in the initial research design process. What if that same company invested that money or even a fraction of that money to understand their clients – really get to know them? This needn’t be a cumbersome or expensive exercise. Here are 4 simple steps to start getting deeper and more meaningful insight into your market: 1. See yourself at the core of your market We should always put ourselves at the core of our target markets if we are to service those markets in a meaningful way. Ask yourself, as a client at the core of the target market of my business, what do I need from my product or offering? Am I currently using my product to fill my needs for it? If not, why not? Are all the employees in my organisation using my products willingly if they have a need for it? If not, why not? Until your company or business is the preferred supplier of your product to you and your employees, keep looking inside the organisation for insights on how to improve your product. Don’t stop until every single employee has chosen your company as a preferred supplier of your products should they need it. The wealth of insight you will gain just from this step alone, will be invaluable to your business, and you will succeed in getting a whole arsenal of raving fans for your products! 2. Focus on those immediately around you Once you have listened to the needs of all your employees and have gained all the insight you can from them, look at those closest to them – their families. Do they fall into your target market and have they chosen your product willingly? If not, why not? As you work in this fashion, from the inside of your organisation outwards, you will succeed in ensuring that every client becomes a meaningful and important client that chooses your product. 3. Capitalise on every interaction with everyone From now on, every interaction with people, clients or not, is an opportunity for market research. Listen to them and stay attuned to any information that could help you craft your offering. What are their needs? What are their challenges? Does my company or business have a product that can address those needs or challenges? Do they fall into my target market? Is there an opportunity to develop something new or target a new market? As you interact with people, take the opportunity to really connect with them, to understand their thinking patterns, their behaviour, and their choices. What motivates them? What are their attitudes to things like money, family, community, education, etc.? What is important to them? What beliefs do they have? What are their goals? What are the obstacles that stand in their way to achieving their goals? Each time you connect with people, you learn a little bit more about the market around you. 4. Use this information to shape your offering Now that you have all this insight into your market, it is important to use it to refine your offering and look for new ways to provide solutions to the challenges your clients face. Focus on your client as you ask yourself how you can adapt your product to meet those needs. Insight can only become valuable once it is converted into meaningful change that can positively impact the business. Finally, ask yourself, how can my organisation be of service? This opens up the space for insight into new products, new approaches and creative solutions. The role of market research never ends because you will always have a cycle of gaining insight, implementing changes and then gaining new insight once those changes have taken place. Because, at the end of the day, it’s all about knowing what your clients need and adding value to their lives by being the preferred supplier of choice to fill those needs.
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Meera JeramI am passionate about helping people and organisations to achieve excellence by inspiring, empowering and enabling them to achieve their goals. ArchivesCategories
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