The Neglected Power Of Conversation

“Wait, you want me to actually go out and speak to them? Like..Now?!”

This was the response from a client after being told that as part of our workshop, they were now hitting the streets of Manchester and asking the general public about their newest idea for their product.

Despite initial horror and disbelief, they took the plunge and they were amazed by the result. In just one hour, they collected a wealth of insight that reshaped their concept and built a new understanding of the problem they were solving.

This initial reaction isn’t uncommon. Getting up and personal with customers is hard and also a rare occurrence nowadays. Amidst data dashboards and sophisticated analytics, we have perhaps got too comfy behind our laptop screens.

I bet the last time you did, it was invaluable and further informed your view of your audience in a deeply meaningful way.

So, while data dashboards and analytics have their merits, by distilling customer insights into digital text and data, we risk losing the human touch, the nuance, and the empathy that only comes from real, unfiltered conversation.

It is by building empathy through research and design, that we are guided to truly comprehend the needs and challenges of your audience and build solutions that meet them.?

"But we don't have time or budget"

This is a common response, but the good news is that there are lean ways you and your team can bring the voice of the customer back to the day-to-day grind:

1 - Get out. Make a habit of stepping out from behind your screens and engaging with customers in person. Get into their natural habitat to listen, learn, and adapt. What if you made it a regular event as a team to get out and about to connect with your audience?

2 - Get connected. Integrate real customer experiences into your team meetings. Share verbatim from reviews or videos from customer research at the beginning of your daily stand-ups. Or how about bringing real customers into your team meeting for them to share or help you solve a problem? Here are some practical tips from my colleagues Lucy Willett and Laura Fernández Pi?eiro on how you can co-create with customers.

3 - Get in the shoes. Experience your product or service first-hand. We call them “safaris” or “teardowns” where you immerse yourself in the customer journey and look to break and then fix your solution. By doing this you can build new perspectives and gain valuable insight of where improvements lie.

4 - Get going. Start by starting - This is our Magnetic mantra. None of these things need to take up a lot of time and simply start engaging with customers in small steps and go from there.

Remember, this isn't a task reserved for a select few; this should extend to everyone within your business. Why?

No matter what your role is, by developing empathy with your audience you will design and deliver better products and/or services. Through it, you are reminded of who and what you are solving for, which results in a common sense of purpose, new inspiration and activated motivation.

It is through the power of conversation, that you can truly understand the voice of your customer and create a business that stands the test of time.