Are businesses clueless about what customers value? Expert says lack of understanding hurts the bottom line.
There’s a simple reason many businesses struggle to explain why customers should choose them over a competitor. Fewer than 5 percent of them have a clue about what it is their customers value, says Jaynie L. Smith, author of “Creating Competitive Advantage” (now in its 16th printing) and “Relevant Selling”. She should know.
Smith, who is president of Smart Advantage Inc., a sales/marketing/management consultancy, has asked thousands of CEOs about the research they do to learn more about their customers. What she has discovered isn’t comforting – at least not for the businesses. For roughly 90 percent, what they think they know about their customers turns out to be wrong.

 

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