Fast Company reports on how executives need to think about the customer at every stage of their business process, and shares the Siemens story of the “man with the folding chair”:
“The manager replied that his chair would change the whole character of the discussion at the meeting. “Just watch,” the manager said, as they both entered the conference room. Several people, including sales reps, were already gathered in the room when the manager came in with his chair, unfolded it, and set it down empty next to his own chair.
“Who are you expecting to join us?” asked some of the sales reps. “Shouldn’t we just get some more chairs brought in here?” others asked, as they leaped up to see where more chairs might be found.
“No,” the manager replied, “this is my customer’s chair. I brought it to the meeting so my customer can sit right here and listen to our discussion.” Then, with a nod to the empty chair, the manager said the meeting could begin. But, as he had predicted, the character of the discussion was indeed quite different from the typical sales gathering. Several times during the meeting, participants found themselves asking whether a particular point would be made in the same way if the customer were actually sitting there and listening. Would we say this in front of our own customer?”
In marketing, it’s all the more important for companies to keep customer behaviors, lifestyle and patterns in mind to speak to them at the right time, with the right message.
http://www.fastcompany.com/1811671/make-room-at-the-meeting-table-for-your-customer