Do I really understand my customer?

We are often asked, what is the secret to successfully growing your business?

If only there was one answer, how simple life would be, we could all focus on that and watch our businesses grow!

Unfortunately, this is not the case; successfully growing a business is not an exact science, but we have some practical hints that may help you on the way:

Thinks about yourself, what is your role in starting the growth journey? Are you working on the business or in the business? Are you spending time on developing your thoughts on business improvement? Have you got the right support around you that will enable you to expand your thoughts?

If this is the case – well done, that’s one element covered. What about another – the customer?

Start by asking yourself – what does your target customer look like? Where do they need help? Where is their pain?

Then ask yourself – how well does my product or offering reflect the needs of the customer? Be honest with yourself, even the best has room for improvement. So, what could those improvements be and how will you bring them into your business?

This is something we constantly ask ourselves at BHP Consulting.

For example, in 2017 Rachel and I decided we needed to review one of our training programmes. Client engagement was down and feedback was that the people taking part wanted more from the course. As a result, we completely re-wrote our Management Academy training because we knew it didn’t meet the needs of our target customers. We re-evaluated what their needs were and since we did this, have seen a significant uptake in participation, and a vast improvement on the feedback from the delegates.

So, you see, we can all benefit from getting a better understanding of our customers.

Once you have identified the customer’s needs, you have started to put the customer at the heart of your offering. During this process, you may have already started to think about the different types of customers you have – we will expand on the opportunities here next time.

Click here to understand how you can achieve growth more quickly.