If you search the term “customer mindset,” you’ll find associations with marketing and customer service. The premise? A deeper understanding of your customer generates increased sales and engagement. Let’s be honest. We want both.
A heartfelt appreciation for the customer transforms reams of data into relevant insights and, ultimately, a customer mindset. We don’t merely appreciate your customer’s head and heart. We become the customer as we consider choice from their perspective. Will I pay the full rack-rate for a year of virtual college or create a tailored experience at half the cost? Will I sleep in a tent community with people I know or go to a shelter despite my health and safety concerns? These are the real questions racing through your customers’ minds.
I’ve been practicing a customer mindset for years while setting strategy for organizations like Swallow Hill Music and the University of Denver College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences. Application in real-time taught me to connect purpose with strategy. The throughline? A heartfelt appreciation for the customer.
As you’ll read in my book Differentiated, a customer mindset inspired me to invent new tools for your strategy process. For example, classifying competitors as direct, indirect, or substitute doesn’t reflect a customer mindset. Your customer isn’t interested in industries or markets, and they aren’t making decisions based on those delineators either.
Get ready to discover new pathways to connect your purpose to strategic differentiation. I look forward to hearing about your discoveries.
Differentiated on sale March 20, 2021
Pre-order on Amazon or Barnes & Noble today!
