Comments on: What I Don’t Know

By: Dmitri Eroshenko, Relenta

Dmitri Eroshenko, Relenta — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:57:54 +0000

Well done, John! Just about every line-item on the list can be traced to fear. It really is holding us back, big time. Fear of change. Fear of hearing not what you want to hear. Fear of rejection. Fear of success. Fear of appearing stupid.

By: Kris Bovay

Kris Bovay — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:42:29 +0000

Great points. And I’d like to add that once you’ve discovered more (about customers, your service, your products, yourself) – you need to do something with it. As a consultant, I’ve worked with clients who spend a lot of time discovering (through surveys) what to change, adapt or improve but who never, or are slow to, implement any of the feedback.

By: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 04:31:42 +0000

Bruce:
Since you would want to target that “brick and mortar” party attendee because he/she might want to change the party they attend, I would suspect that you would want to target them.

By: John Jantsch

John Jantsch — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:44:52 +0000

@Sarah – great point – lapsed customers may be able to shed a great deal of light on what didn’t work for them.

By: John Jantsch

John Jantsch — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:43:48 +0000

@Bruce – yes, it’s always a little harder when you don’t have a usebase to draw upon, but sometimes users aren’t the only reliable source as they may have adapted to your bad habits.

I like the idea of mixing in people who know nothing about what you are doing too

By: bruce christensen/Partywedo

bruce christensen/Partywedo — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:58:37 +0000

John,
What happens when you are developing an idea that has not launched within the current networks? There are no customers to watch or survey. No brochures to read or secret shopping available. Is finding similar models and researching their materials the only course of action? What testing would be appropriate prior to a launch?

By: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:35:46 +0000

John:
There are two points that you made which perhaps should be given extra emphasis: Taking the time to call your business and going over your website with a customer.

With the understanding that you never get a second chance to make a first impression, these are the two places where especially new customers come into first contact (and then ongoing contact) with your business. You need to really get their feel for how comfortable they are with your business and what their experience is.

Call your office and pretend to be a customer to see how your customers are treated. You might be surprised. When you visit your website, pretend that you are a customer, you might be surprised.

By: John SEO

John SEO — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:34:37 +0000

@Sarah,
maybe by now or by the time your previous customer left, you probably know the reason why they left, and the possibility that they will not give insights due to competition