Always see your customers' perspective

"Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?" - George Carlin

Perspective is a tricky thing. How you view something can either be similar or vastly different than how someone else views it. When it comes to business, perspective is everything. Successful businesses go to great lengths to ensure not only getting their branding right, but also develop and perfect ways to make things better for the customer.

To be successful in business, you have to be able to consider the perspective of others, and not just your own internal perspective (whether it is your company's or just yourself). I've touched upon this concept here and there in my previous posts, but I want to reiterate just how important this principle is.

Normally, every thing in existence will have its proponent and its critic. However, there is an issue of concern if something has way more critics than proponents. It is extremely vital to always be collecting feedback from external parties, whether it be friends, family or complete strangers (such as customers). What may seem "easy" "useful" or "affordable" to you, may not necessarily apply to others.

Failing to understand the perspective of your customers can cost you dearly. Therefore, there are two useful exercises you should do. This applies to whether you have a business already or you are planning to start one:

Exercise 1: Ask yourself 50 negative questions (i.e. "Why should I care about xyz product/service?") and then answer them. Don't worry if you can't reach 50, just try your hardest to get close to that number. The reason for that is that it will force your mind to think from an outside perspective. You may find this exercise a bit sobering, but it will save you later.

Exercise 2: Get your friends and even strangers to test out your product/service and collect their feedback. Make sure they give you HONEST feedback and have them elaborate on their feedback. For example, if someone says, "I think xyz is great." Ask them why. Why do they find it great? You need to understand exactly what you do well, and what you don't do well. Most likely, feedback will end up clumping into a handful of similar issues. People simply have different ways of expressing their thoughts. It's up to you to interpret feedback into coherent themes that you can act upon.

We've all seen businesses who have terrible customer service and/or weak value propositions. Usually, those businesses either suffer greatly or collapse completely. You won't share their fate if you always do your best to understand your customers' perspective. Whether someone loves or hates your business...they'll always be willing to give you a piece of their mind. Use that to your advantage. Most importantly of all, always be critical of yourself.