Paul Schoemaker discusses ways for companies to better understand their customers in his latest article for Inc. Magazine.
In this article, which was co-authored with Steve Krupp, CEO of Decision Strategies International, and had some input from Wharton Professor George S. Day, Schoemaker describes the current environment, in which customers are less trusting and more empowered due to the internet. In addition, data overload and increasing diversification makes it increasingly difficult for managers to understand all of their customers, leading to missed opportunities to meet their customers’ needs.
Schoemaker suggests various ways companies can understand their customers better, such as standing in the customer’s shoes, and even following a customer through every aspect of an order, in order to find out where the experience breaks down. Through these and other methods, managers can get a better idea of what their customer base looks like, and thus will be able to make decisions in their best interests.
Paul Schoemaker runs the Mack Center MBA Research Fellowship, in which Wharton MBA students engage with Mack Center research priorities in a supportive, independent study atmosphere. Read more articles Schoemaker has written for Inc. here.