On the Importance of Conversation
I don’t always get Starbucks. But when I do…it’s a thrilling game of Russian roulette…will the decaf I ordered actually be decaf? And if it isn’t, how much will I have downed before I figure it out, and how many thousands of things will I get done in the ensuing 24hrs?
When I order in person, I look the person in the eye, ask for what I want, and always double-check that it's decaf. And I have more than once caught someone on autopilot. (They're always so nice about it.)
When I order on the app, no interaction. Even if I double-check when I'm there, they might not remember my order because there was no interaction between us. No conversation. No connection point.
(PS: This random thought was first brought to you via this hilarious thread. Yay, Twitter.)
In a conversation, the salesperson has to learn and confirm what the customer wants. And the customer gets to confirm whether they got what they wanted.
When you skip the conversation, the salesperson goes on autopilot. They work off of assumptions. What the customer should want. Based either on the other customers they’ve sold to, or the way too much information they have about what they’re selling which makes it hard (if not impossible) for them to put themselves in the shoes of someone who doesn’t want what they’re selling (yet).
Conversation is not just for the sales team.
The most important thing any head of marketing can do is have conversations with the customer. Every week, talk with someone who:
bought what you’re selling and is using it well
didn’t buy at all
bought but churned
bought but hasn’t started using it well yet
Come into that conversation with zero assumptions. No curse of knowledge. No myth of your own experience.
Just the right open-ended questions to learn from each person something you didn’t know before.
So you don’t give your customers decaf. And they don’t feel like interacting with your brand is a thrilling game of what will I get this time. And your marketing, sales, product, and customer success teams make the right growth moves, together, to better serve your ideal customer. Not to foist upon them what you’re pretty sure you’re here to do and what you’re pretty sure the market is supposed to want.