HOW DO WE BOOST CUSTOMER INSIGHT THROUGHOUT THE COMPANY?

The customer is a moving target. There is no “typical customer” and thinking in terms of target groups only widen the chasm between your organisation and the customer. Acquiring information and (big) data about the customer is not the same as knowing the customer.

Asking the customer what they want is not as simple as it sounds. As consumers we are typically lousy at knowing what we need. Instead, we will happily tell you what we already have (i.e., what we want to keep), what someone else has (that we are jealous of) or just blast out on all the problems with the existing product (and no one is any wiser on what the solution might be).

These are hard facts that, among many other industries, the traditional media houses have felt sorely in the last years. The Nordic Media Programme (NMP) is a network for leadership development, business development and innovation, connecting media leaders in all Nordic countries. The media houses that we have worked with in NMP have all struggled with finding the right way to supply news to readers. There’s no doubt that people still want to know what is happening in the world, but when and how do they want this information? What creates value for the media consumer and what are just old habits that will swiftly be brushed aside by other forms of media?

Customer insight through first-hand experiences

There are no shortcuts to customer insight and no one you can outsource understanding to. In order to succeed, you need to get familiar with your customer. To spark deeper customer insight, we have sent leaders of most Nordic media houses to the buzzling streets of trendy Copenhagen.

When we suggest to these executives and managers that they go out into the streets to meet their customers, we are mostly met by confusion. Some even get defensive. Of course they know their customer! What nonsense is this, being sent out to talk to random people? What do they know about leading a media house?

But what we see happening every single time is this: when it comes to understanding something, nothing beats seeing it for yourself. After one day of talking to and observing people (potential customers), the media leaders always return full of new ideas, insights and enthusiasm.

These ideas and insights are the fuel that create new development in an organisation. But to give them structure and to put them in context, we need reflection. Through reflection we create understanding and a solid foundation for business development.

Tools for action and reflection

Facilitating the process of gaining customer insight is what we do best here at TalentMiles. The TalentMiles App is custom built to encourage action and experimenting in the organisation. Our signature methods also activate reflection, creating real insight and learning.

With TalentMiles you can release the full potential of your organisation. Create insight through action!