Dare to ask
The very first thing you learn in negotiation is to ask. It is as simple as that: if you don’t ask, you don’t get. Not asking anything is the best way to make sure nothing will ever improve. And let’s be frank: not asking hides a lack of courage to confront a potential negative feedback… It is very human. But receiving a critic is the way towards growth (see our article “Bring on your critics” for more on that topic). You might simply be in the wrong direction, and there is absolutely nothing shameful in asking for the right way.
I am still so surprised of have many businesses don’t know their clients very well. Many business owners barely even know the demographics of their clientele. However, they usually know their competitors quite well. It is a quick way to compare yourself and check if you are doing well. But knowing about competition doesn’t help you to stand out. It tells you all the things you should not do, because another business is already doing this. And copying won’t bring you anywhere.
It is crucial to check who are your clients in more details. Are you sure you will get 100% correct answers to the following questions (just to quote a few)?
What are their main artistic influence?
What do their admire in their competitors?
What is their true budget?
What value is the most important to them?
What are a 3 key causes they are invested in?
Why do they buy your product / service?
Why would they buy your service again instead of switching for competition?
And if you think you already know it is worth a sanity check. There can be a difference between what you imagined and what it had become over time.
How can you design the best products, the best services, if you don’t know who will make the effort to buy it?
Dare to bother your clients, you’ll be surprise how happy they are to talk with you. Usually, people are more than happy to help. Not only it makes feel good about themselves: they get to help someone with minimum effort. But also sharing feedback is something everybody loves doing: we all enjoy talking about ourselves 😊 More importantly, your clients will be relieved that their needs are taken in consideration. It will reinforce the trust they have in you, as they will know that you genuily care about them.
Clients knowledge is the base of all marketing enterprise. You have to know your audience before you address them. Just dare to ask, I promise you that you will be happily surprised.
