Digging In The Dirt - Feeding The Customer

Digging in the Dirt - Feeding the Customer

MY DAD WOULD occasionally vary what he grew in his garden, but we could always count on beets, cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, onions, black-eyed peas, okra, and squash. You see, my dad was in tune with his customers—his family. He knew what we liked and worked hard to meet our expectations, delivering only those items that were yummy to us.

This seems like such an obvious approach to customer satisfaction, but it’s long been lost on most corporations. Why? Because it requires someone from an enterprise actually talking with customers about their needs and wants. It involves getting to know each client, understanding its future expectations as well as what drives those expectations and the disappointments it has experienced with your company in the past.

You’ll never know what your patrons really expect from your organization unless you listen to them, and you won’t learn what services and products they’re hungry for just by reading online surveys. But it also requires accepting the information and guidance your customers are trying to give. So often companies invest in gathering information only to challenge or dismiss a customer’s opinion. Is this crazy or what?

If you build your business model, products, and services around your customers’ desires, rather than just your own agenda, there’s a good chance you’re going to benefit. You’ll gain not only stronger sales, but you’ll also enjoy a greater sense of accomplishment and pleasure. There’s nothing more gratifying than customers who say they enjoy doing business with you and your organization.

Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! (Hebrews 13:2)

When you’re planning your next garden, call your customers to the table and ask them what they like. If they say tomatoes, give them tomatoes; if you grow okra instead, get out the cornmeal—there’s a good chance you’ll be eating it by yourself. Do you need to set a place for your customers?