Using the Mirror to Grow

‘Adapt or die,’ or so the adage goes. It’s a little-known fact that Walt Disney’s first company failed. Laugh-O-Grams went into bankruptcy in 1923 but the seed had already been sown; in later interviews Disney told the story that his first Mickey Mouse sketches were inspired by a mouse at his desk at the Laugh-O-Gram Studio. The rest, as they also say, ‘is history.’

Such is the nature of business and the importance of evolution and growth. Any product or service, no matter what the sector or service, has a definitive shelf-life and requires constant improvement and evolution, in line with customer needs. 

But what is the most powerful tool for determining business evolution and growth? Revenue statistics, profit forecasts, employee satisfaction surveys?

No. A mirror! 

We all try to use the “take a look in the mirror” concept in our personal lives but how often does this happen in the business world? A mirror gives us a completely different perspective on a very familiar subject and is a very powerful tool if used properly and in the right hands. 

Users, customers and prospects are the key drivers of any business’ success. But when an organisation looks to evaluate its competitive positioning, too many leaders opt to employ the strategy of sitting in a room with key internal stakeholders to discuss their view of the perception of their company within their market. With the best intentions they review all manner of company ‘assets’, such as visual identity, messaging, customer journeys and their value proposition.

The major issue with this approach? While opinions originate with good intentions, they are entirely subjective, viewed only through the lens of people who live and breathe the company every day from only the wrong side of the fence. Their perceptions of its products and services and the value they provide are more often than not, entirely skewed and therefore dangerously inaccurate.

For an organisation to truly evaluate its position and value, it must engage with its users, customers and prospects. It may be a difficult task to ask and receive feedback on real customer impression and sentiment, as the results may not match those of the boardroom, but it is ultimately not the boardroom that decides the success of the company – it’s the customer. 

The customer journey and how a brand interacts with its customers must therefore remain at the core of a business’ offering. Understanding, appreciating and respecting this journey enables organisations to appeal to their clients on the clients’ terms. An interaction that is reverse engineered from the users’ perspective is infinitely more powerful and persuasive than one designed by internal staff. This concept is now at the core of most B2C interaction, however it is yet to become the key driver of B2B marketing. Business and product owners remain rigid, believing they know what their clients desire, without actually asking them.

Here at Genoa Black, we are the experts in research, strategy development and marketing execution. So, you would think that we are well positioned to evaluate our own brand.

Wrong! Even experts cannot remove themselves far enough to have a truly objective view. We recently looked in the mirror and conducted a programme to establish what our client and potential clients thought about us in terms of our brand, messaging, value proposition and appeal as a supplier.

The results surprised us. Our client satisfaction rates were 96% and those who have commissioned work through us gave incredible feedback. Those who have not worked with us told a different tale; we need to evolve how we interact with them, how we describe our expertise and the real value it brings. Without going through this process, we would have continued to assume people understood our capabilities and value. The result would most likely have been moderate growth at best. Now, armed with the knowledge of how we can best reach and influence our potential clients we are targeting >50% growth in 2020.

I will leave you with this thought, how could you apply it?

The value of understanding the perception of your clients cannot be overstated. 

Contact us to discuss how you can use the Mirror to grow your business: [email protected]

Genoa Black is an experienced research, strategy development and marketing company that helps ambitious businesses understand their value and how to maximise it. Drum award-winning and recognised for Research, Strategic Marketing, and B2B Marketing we are recommended across 10 categories by the Recommended Agency Register, and won Professional Services Exporter of the Year Award at the HSBC Export Awards in March 2016.