3-part series on Curiosity: Leadership | Mindset | Operations
How well do you know your customers? Businesses who use curiosity with their customers build better relationships. You know what’s important to them. You understand their challenges.
Curiosity requires humility. Acknowledging you don’t have all the answers. You need your customer’s help.
Strengthen the connection you have with your customer by bringing them into the process. Get their input and listen to their feedback, including complaints. Let’s put curiosity in action with questions.
Curiosity in Customers’ Experiences
Many times we have systems in place to benefit the business without considering customer impact. These systems can create friction and unintentional frustration. When a customer experiences too much friction they walk away.
Sample Survey Questions
- During the onboarding process what step was the least valuable to your experience?
- What would you remove to improve the value of the course?
- If you wanted more time during the coaching process, what would you eliminate?
- What can we do to make the checkout process easier for you?
- During the return process, what did you like the least?
Sometimes we have too many steps and over complicate things. Or by moving a step to earlier in the process we reduce the need for more work later on. Use your customer’s answers to simplify and improve processes.
Curiosity in Product Development
Are you underserving customers? Listening to your customers allows you to discover the need for a product or service. Consider how traditional businesses only recently expanded clothing sizes and skin tones for beauty.
- Read comments on social media. What is your audience asking for?
- Pay attention to reviews. What are customers complaining about?
- What product would extend the life of your flagship product? (eye glass cleaner, garment bag, jewelry pouch, keepsake box)
- If your offerings are evergreen, what is a seasonal product that would benefit your customer? (holiday, back-to-school, vacation, new year)
- Is there an add-on service to create convenience for your customer? (delivery, printing, 1:1 coaching, curation)
Ask them questions on social media and in your newsletter. Ask them questions through surveys. Host office hours, AMA’s (ask-me-anything), or meet the founder events. Schedule 1:1’s with your top customers.
Keep asking questions even when you hear crickets. When they do answer, listen and take notes. Then ask more questions for clarity. Don’t automatically assume you understand.
It’s important to understand the nuances of your customers. Yes, we’re encouraged to create avatars of our ideal customers. But people are complex. You and I don’t fit into any predefined box.
Businesses who use stereotypes create opportunities for bad reviews and press. This is why it’s important to engage with your audience and customers. Their needs and wants change. Assumptions create complacency.
Grow with your customers. Stay curious!
Melissa Kay Jones 