When you think about what a business is you may think about products, services, websites, sales, etc. But really the simplest definition is providing a product to a person for money. Those people who are buying your product are called your customers (duh).
This is obvious to everyone - yet what % of business owners talk to the people who buy their products every day?
When it comes to a retail business the number is pretty close to 100% right? But when it comes to online businesses the number plummets.
If by "talk" we mean over the phone or a video call (not email or live chat) then the number falls even further.
How is that not crazy?
As a business owner your lifeblood is your customers. Literally the definition of having a business means having customers. And yet many folks don't prioritize having actual voice conversations with the people who buy from them.
Personally, I try to talk with at least 3 customer or prospects every day of the work week. Usually it's through a demo time slot them can schedule on our website.
This demo however is rarely a typical demo. It normally is just a conversation between two people trying to understand each other.
I keep the structure very open ended (it's not a canned presentation). I simply ask whoever I'm talk with how I can best help them today. And then I do pretty much whatever they ask of me.
Sounds simple enough, but this has been one of the most important channels I have for collecting customer/prospect feedback.
It's also a wonderful way to build rapport with people in a genuine way and get to know our customers a bit.
I can run product ideas, pricing changes, or user experience questions by them and get answers in real time.
From their perspective, they get to chat with the co-founder of the software and get a sense of security knowing we actually care about helping them be successful and not stress about being neglected if questions come up.
It's really hard to imagine a better use of my time.