Customers Are People First
This blog was originally published as a LinkedIn article in July 2022.
Customers are people who live full complete lives. Your product/service/program joins them in their lives. It is rare that a product comes to exist in our world that leads us to recenter our lives around it.
Our lives have natural inflection points or milestones that catalyze new behaviors. They shift our perspectives and understanding of what’s possible. Consider natural transitions of life: A baby crawls then starts to figure out walking. A child picks up a musical instrument for the first time. A student starts a new job after graduation. It’s not always clear that these moments are the start of personal transformations and the development of new identities - we often realize moments of change after the fact.
When I launched Quire in 2017, I started working from home. I also got my first dog that year. I was still working full time, but the move to working at home meant I could find time to take care of a puppy’s demands in the margins of my work day. Having a dog replaced some of the companionship I lost by not having in-person colleagues.
That shift introduced a new facet to my identity. In addition to being a researcher, entrepreneur and homeowner, I was now a dog owner - some would say a “dog mom”. Dog owners buy dog food, treats, toys and shampoo designed just for dogs. They go to veterinarians and groomers. They shop at pet supply stores and visit dog parks. This new identity opened a whole new realm of decision making.
Being a dog owner also intersected with my identity as a homeowner. I already had a fence around my yard, but this little animal quickly demonstrated the ineffectiveness of the old, chain link border that was present when I moved in. I had a new fence installed that would protect my dog from her own curiosity, increase the beauty of my backyard and the value of my property.
When we consider our customers only through the lens of our businesses, or more narrowly our products, we’re missing out on the other factors that shape their decision making. Conversely, when we consider our customers only through broad generalizations and stereotypes we do a similar disservice by ignoring the nuances that shape their thinking.
As researchers, our first goal is always understanding people. When we understand the reality of someone’s lived experience we can empathize with them and their needs. That empathy informs our teams and our clients in ways that facilitate groundbreaking innovation of products, services, and programs. This leads to better ways of doing business that your customer will notice.
Since originally publishing this, I’ve purchased a different home with another chain link fence that needs to be replaced! Now that fence surrounds more yard than I’ve ever owned. The front lawn has a beautification award on it that any one can see was not earned by the current owner. Customers - and their habits, beliefs, behaviors and values - continue to evolve. Times change, but the need to see, and serve, people as people never does.