Too often, businesses treat their customers as a statistic, or worse, a cash cow to be milked. But such an attitude may not be healthy in the long run: It may even harm a brand since a customer’s moos… I mean, feedback is treated as nothing more than noise.
For startups especially, listening to customers is crucial for iterating your product, which is why they deserve an equal pedestal alongside your colleagues and the investors that you’re seeking to fund your company.
While market surveys and questionnaires are useful for gathering feedback, perhaps entrepreneurs can consider setting up a ‘Board of Customers’, as what Deric Loh from e-commerce platform The EZ Suite has done. While EZ Suite is not a startup in the strictest sense — it is a collaborative project by PayPal and SingaporePost — it feels like one. Deric was brought in to develop the product from scratch, with some help of course.
From the get go, EZ Suite’s potential customers were intimately involved in developing the product. But while customers certainly matter, they should never be allowed to dictate the direction of your company.
So here are some tips from Deric on how to involve customers in your product.
1) Get your top five or ten customers to serve as your sounding board. In return, offer them something.
It’s up to you how you want to define ‘top customers’, says Deric. They may be your most loyal customers, or the ones that generate you the most revenue. Or you could get a mix — it doesn’t hurt to hear from a disgruntled customer either, because they can give valuable feedback.
In Deric’s case, before EZ Suite was ready for launch, he got several partners to try the product out for free on a trial basis whereas customers would normally have to pay a premium. This gesture not only entices customers to come on board, it allows feedback to be collected quickly. They also feel a sense of ownership, and might even share about the product with their partners.
Through this process, he learnt what a particular subset of customers need in the service, alongside with what other customers want. He was able to tailor EZ Suite accordingly to match those needs.
2) Talk to as many of your customers as possible
While surveys are a commonly used tool, they’re impersonal. Besides, you don’t give a survey form to your Board of Directors; you call or email them to find out their thoughts and opinions. Deric advocates this approach. He has talked to as many customers as possible, even those that have cancelled their subscriptions. Such calls may reveal problems with the service which the provider might not have noticed.
“Customers are your partners. if you don’t talk to them, you’ll never know how to improve your product,” he said.
Finding the right questions that suits your needs is important too. “I asked them to tell me something they like about the service, and something they don’t like about it.”
This process has improved EZ Suite by making it simpler to use. The platform targets users who want to set up an online business but don’t have the technical know-how to do so.
3) Implement feedback only if they don’t contradict the company’s goals
Feedback may backfire on you if you don’t know what you’re doing. That is why it’s important to decide what your company or your product is first — and stick to it. For example, since EZ Suite is a platform designed primarily for novice users, it makes no sense to implement advanced features that require CSS or HTML knowledge. This might change though, depending on customer feedback.
But so far, the modifications that EZ Suite has made pre-launch adheres closely to its goals. Changes have been made to simplify the user interface by not showing too much functionality to the extent of confusing users. Jargon has also been eliminated in the feature descriptions.
4) Set up your ‘Board of Customers’ pre-launch, not post-launch
Besides the opportunity to get valuable feedback before launch, having clients test your product early allows you to associate your brand with theirs — crucial if you’re starting from scratch and have no built-up credibility.
“People may not know your company, but if they see a brand’s logo on your website, it could be a tremendous boost.”
Of course, getting your product right should be the most important priority, otherwise no one will want to endorse you.
Photo: Luis Argerich
Link to full article
