Customers can’t always describe what they want. Problems and barriers can be explained, but most often, solutions are not easily forthcoming. Implementing a solution requires change, and it can be challenging for customers to abandon precedent and envision a solution that changes their current process.
But sustaining competitive advantage obliges a business to realize that their current process is always their most challenging competition. Continuous improvement and innovation can be risky, but must be pursued so that breakthrough solutions can be imagined and advantage preserved.
How can you help a customer recognize your proposed solution as productive change and accelerate its acceptance?
Ask the customer to specify expected results when their problem is resolved. Customers know what a successful solution should produce, what success looks like. Once the current circumstances are known, pivot your attention to discover how the customer defines success. What goals can be realized and why is that important. Help the customer envision their ideal condition after the right solution is implemented, and ask how quickly they want to reach that point.
“Customers pay only for what is of use to them and gives them value.” Peter Drucker – Management Expert
Learning how a customer defines success, helps clarify what is valued. Is it sales growth? Higher throughput? Greater efficiency? Reduced waste? Faster time to market? Integrating into your proposal the quantifiable value produced by your solution reduces the change-related risk perceived by the customer and enables your concept to be appreciated as a reliable contributor to your customer’s success. Specifying how your solution also strengthens their competitive advantage increases the value produced, making it easier and faster for them to choose you.
How do your current key customers define success?
How often do you ask them?
