Start listening to your customers

One struggling restaurant owner said to me, “My customers are getting older and I’m
not attracting a young crowd. It worries me. In a couple of years many will die
off. Then what?” I suggested he do a couple of focus groups with younger people in
the neighborhood who hadn’t visited the restaurant recently. His response was,
“What will they tell me? That I should lower my prices or change my menu.”

Perhaps that is what they’d say. I don’t really know because he was too stubborn to
look at the situation objectively. Maybe they would have said the restaurant décor
was too old fashioned or the lighting was dim and depressing. They might have said
that they remembered the food wasn’t very good when they visited the restaurant
umpteen years ago. Maybe they would have said something simple like they wish the
menu would offer less than the elaborate 6-course dinners they featured because they
always left the restaurant feeling stuffed.

What prevents Guerrilla’s from using research is usually a case of misplaced ego.
Most Guerrillas’ are entrepreneurs or small businesses. They tend to hold strong
opinions of what will or won’t work. They are not accustomed to looking outward for
answers and prefer to think they know best.

Ask yourself these questions, the next time you’re likely to go it alone:

1) If I’m wrong, how much will it cost me?
2) How long can I afford to be wrong before I run out of money?
3) Have I asked for input from my customers or prospects that have no stake in
whether I succeed or fail?
4) Have I asked my customers and prospects what they need and want from me and my
business?
5) Do I know if my customers think I’m giving them what they need and want?
6) Do I know what else I can provide my customers so that they’ll pay me more…and be
happier about it?
7) Do my customers and prospects know the benefits of buying from me?
8) Do I know with certainty why my prospects go to a competitor rather than me?

Open your mind. You aren’t in it alone and it needn’t cost you a fortune to tap
into the best advice you’ll ever get. Start listening to your customers.

At least once a week ask yourself this question. Can you stand to know your
customers and prospects might be smarter than you in helping you business grow?

You can contact Bob at:

The Kaden Company
6677 N. Lincoln Ave.
Lincolnwood, IL 60712
(847) 933-9400
Fax: (847) 679-2101



Jay


Jay Conrad Levinson
The Father of Guerrilla Marketing