In the shoes of your customers, literally

Paul Hunt is a marketing consultant

Writing after the six goal bonanza against Panama and a hatrick for ‘One of our own’ Harry Kane, please excuse the upbeat nature of my blog this week.

The euphoria of such a win is felt across the nation (sorry for those not in England), but it was interesting to hear Gareth Southgate’s comments that he felt that they didn’t play that well and was disappointed with conceding a goal. Such contrasting views and it made me think about a simple issue that affects all businesses who have client meetings.

In the case above it depends where you are sitting (fan or manager) and it made me think of a recent example, where I was in a meeting and was told that for those facing the window, they would be treated to the sight of people in dressing gowns or swimming attire leaving their changing rooms and walking to the pool. This was distracting for many reasons, so have you ever sat where you sit your clients and seen what they see?

Whilst working for Countrywide, one of the causes of a huge amount of email traffic and irate phone calls was when a senior member of the business did branch visits, as very rarely did any of the offices and their client meeting areas meet with their approval.

Multiple things could cause offence, posters not being shown, leaflets not on desks, untidy areas, no thank you cards displayed, the list was almost endless. On reflection maybe it wasn’t the best use of everyone’s time, but I could understand the frustration it caused.

Whilst this is possibly going to extremes, you should take time to assess what your clients see and possibly get an independent person in to look at your office (a relative, friend etc.) and give you feedback with a fresh pair of eyes.

It is often said that you should seek to put yourself in the shoes of your customer, for today’s blog, I am saying you should do literally that.