How well do you know your customers?
Or worse, your employees! Listen here
If ever there was an answer to the above and for all of the wrong reasons, then the recent days and the proposed break away European Super League proposal takes some beating!
Gerald Ratner also springs to mind with his remark about the “cheap & tacky jewellery” that his company sold…That is the polite version!
Huge organisations and with global following in the Premier League clubs’ example…Why then? In this example, it has become a classic example of not understanding its fan base (it’s customers) and failing to communicate with its employees…yet it’s the customer facing staff that are most in tune with what the customer wants!
We take communication for granted. Each day, we talk to our people…our colleagues, our customers and too often without thinking too much about whether our communication styles are successful. Each conversation with a variety of people may need a subtly different style, and in terms of the response, requires active listening…and sometimes with actions. Ever heard the phrase…” I told them but they won’t do anything”. Just as the fallout from the European Super League has meant that clubs are now looking to better engage with fan groups, so too does business need to involve its people in decision making.
In terms of customers, communication failures happen when:
- Companies don’t think clearly about how their audience will perceive a marketing message or new product…Here tests need to take place, consumer polls and consumer research.
- When things go wrong…organisations refuse to be transparent and explain what went wrong, rather than owning up to things and making them right. Customers will accept some mistakes, providing that you react quickly and honestly.
- Inadequate planning has taken place, and new products or campaigns are launched without having an adequate plan in place for dealing with volume, in essence the availability of product and manpower!
- Companies forget about why customers love them. Why they keep coming back…of course, changes do sometimes need to be made, but not without staying true to your core…your values & ethos…and having first consulted and communicated!
“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.” Seth Godin