Consumers don’t bite. Talk to them.

Build intuition by getting close to your consumers.

In a recent post, I shared how Peter Drucker in his book, “Management,” said this about business purpose: “There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer. . . .”

He goes on to say:

“It is the customer who determines what a business is. It is the customer alone whose willingness to pay for a good or for a service converts economic resources into wealth, things into goods. . . . The customer is the foundation of a business and keeps it in existence.”

So, being customer-centric is fundamental to running a business.

Growing up in CPG marketing, I was trained to think this way. Over the last few years, other industries have put an emphasis on Customer Experience, recognizing the importance of providing not just a great product but an overall superior experience for customers throughout their purchase journey.

To be customer-centric means investing in understanding customers (or consumers for B-to-C companies).

Now, consumer research can become a “thing.” When I first started working in Marketing, research was an established department and product (I worked at Young & Rubicam which had hired George Gallup back in 1932 to set up its first research department and created the Brand Asset Valuator). Then at Clorox, our consumer insights teams were key partners in helping to frame our business opportunities from innovation to communications. I don’t mean to say that research departments are negative. I loved having my insights counterparts as business partners on my brand, and of course there is expertise in the field.

Yet, not enough leaders and marketers get really close to their consumers and build their consumer gut intuition.

I don’t think that a formal department should wall off consumer research and talking directly to consumers from others in the organization, especially for business and brand leaders, else everyone loses. Yes, you need to do research right and make sure you’re not getting biased results. But you can also create too many constraints for employees to talk to and get close to consumers, which is critical in today’s environment. It’s best if they can hear consumer insights directly from consumers to get the learning “into their bones,” if you will. It’s when people can hear from consumers themselves that they get a deeper, intuitive understanding of what their consumer seeks from them. If you put too many rules around research, employees won’t be able to listen, learn, and build their consumer gut. 

It was at Clorox where my eyes were opened to getting this close to consumers, actually speaking to them myself vs. a moderator or sitting safely behind two-way glass.

I was lucky to participate in a training on conducting ethnographies in-home with consumers, and then got to take that immediately into practice on the brand I was managing. It was through these intimate interviews that we uncovered an insight that unlocked new consumer-driven growth for this brand that had been traditionally sales-driven. It was on this brand, as well, that I learned sharing these in-home interview videos with senior leaders was what convinced them to align with our recommendations. They were able to experience the insights themselves by watching the videos and essentially going in-home, too. They got the insights into their bones, just like we had.

I then took that learning from Clorox and my desire to get close to consumers and understand their needs into my next role at an incubator where I led the development of a business and brand as the first employee of a start-up natural food company. I didn’t have a research department, nor did I have the budget to engage a research firm, so I talked to consumers myself. Given my prior experiences, I was comfortable doing so; yet, I’ll admit, it was a little unnerving for an introvert. But it was totally worth it. I learned a lot in a little time and unearthed the insights I needed to build the brand.

And, it’s not the last time I’ve done what I call “grassroots research.” Formally trained market researchers might cringe at my methods. But I’ve been in other environments where getting close to the consumer is embraced. While at Minted, we conducted focus groups with consumers inside the office with employees sitting in listening in the same room. We all could get customer service emails directly in our in-boxes to stay on top of consumer feedback. I took our design team into one-on-one interviews with Minted consumers who were moms so they could better understand the consumer with whom they were speaking and serving. 

The lesson is to not relegate interacting with your customers/consumers just to market researchers.

We all must get close to our consumers. Sure, understanding good methodology and having trained researchers still makes sense. Personally, I want their expertise and guidance, especially around eliciting difficult qualitative learning and managing complex quantitative studies. But, don’t let not having the formal expertise stop you from talking to consumers directly and getting good insights. Consumers don’t bite. (At least when they aren’t on the offensive and fighting against poor company behavior.) Not only can talking to consumers be informative, it can also be quite fun. Of course, training can help, too. Practice is required to feel more comfortable and make sure the interaction goes as planned.

In summary, if you are a business leader, it’s imperative that you understand your consumers’ needs, their pain points, their customer journey, and how your product fits into the context of their lives.

So, if you aren’t regularly reviewing customer feedback and input, you’re missing out on valuable insight. Encourage your team to get close to consumers, as well. You don’t have to be sitting behind a two-way mirror to get good, valuable, qualified insights. You just need to be willing to listen and to engage, building your consumer intuition. If you want to build a great customer experience, you need to have a deep understanding of that experience to begin with. And if you want customers to engage with you, perhaps first consider engaging yourself.

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