The development process and some scary facts

Happy Halloween!

In light of the spookiest day of the year, we thought we would talk about some of the scary things companies are doing when approaching their product or service development process.

Warning: The following development process facts may scare you.

Customers are howling – where are your goblin ears?

Scary fact # 1: Companies are still not listening to customers

The first step of the development process is that companies should listen to customers capture feedback and ideas from them. One mistake that businesses often make is that they assume they know what their customers want. Listening to customers boosts customer loyalty and increases the customer experience. However, there is a difference between hearing and listening. Listening implies doing something about what you hear. It’s scary to note that while 90 per cent of companies listen to their customers, only 17 per cent of them act on what they hear.

Hear the cries of locked up employees

Scary fact #2: Companies still ignore internal team members

Thinking about how often companies neglect to ask their own employees for feedback gives us goosebumps. They may not use the company’s product or service as often as the customers, but they are the ones who interact with customers and hear their complaints. Companies should make employees feel valued by asking them for their feedback on the company’s product/service – they often do have innovative ideas.

Toss those traditional surveys into the witches’ brew

Scary fact #3: Companies are still using old-fashioned ways of capturing feedback

Modern day companies have access to many technological resources that can help them capture ideas and feedback from customers and team mates around the world. Companies can simply turn to the Web and gain real-time information on what people are saying about them. 50% of businesses who use software or social media to listen to customers say that they have an increased awareness of their organization, products or services among target customers.

How horrific is it that not all companies are taking advantage of social media or technologies available to them to improve their development process and maximize the customer experience? If they are still collecting feedback the traditional way (through surveys, focus groups, questionnaires) they may be missing opportunities to truly engage with customers to create long-lasting and productive relationships.

Open your door to trick-or-treating customers

Scary fact #4: Companies have poor customer engagement strategies

It’s spine-chilling that some companies still don’t understand that customer engagement is a vital component of the development process. Organizations should allow customers to become part of the development process and give them the opportunity to co-create with the company. Studies have shown that organizations that have optimized customer engagement have outperformed their competitors by 26% in gross margin and 85% in sales growth.

OneDesk helps prevent these terrifying situations

OneDesk can help your listen to customers and take action on their needs. Eliminate falling into eerie positions by activating a customer portal which promotes two-way collaboration between organizations and customers. Go around booby traps by using the social media monitoring tool to eavesdrop on what customers are saying about your brands. Give your customers a treat by engaging them into the development process and produce products and services they want.

We want to know: What scares you most about the development process?