Hey B2B marketers – want to really understand your customers? Not just as a buyer, but in their full glory as businesses?
I asked colleagues, partners and customers what they wished their suppliers asked them – and they came back with great suggestions. Note these are all “big picture questions” – not “when are you sending me that PO?”
So the next time you sit down with one of your customers, ask some of the following open ended questions. [1]
- How much time do you have for me today? (Every customer meeting should start with this question)
- As you look ahead to the next year in your business, what are you most excited about?
- What’s keeping you up at night? Forget about buying from us – what are the biggest problems you’re trying to solve in the next 30-60 days?
- Six months from now, where do you need to be as a business or a department? Why?
- What are the biggest changes you are seeing in your industry?
- Are your customers changing how they use your products or services? How and Why?
- Is there a vendor that exceeded your expectations in the last 6 months? How?
- Is there something our competitors do well we can learn from?
- Is there something we or other vendors do that drives you crazy?
- Do you enjoy doing business with us?
- Do our products or services make a difference to your bottom line? Why or why not?
Let me know if you have any favorites you would add.
AGX Marketing helps B2B technology companies grow through effective customer discovery. Contact me to learn more at andrew@agxdev.wpengine.com
[1] Excellent online materials I want to acknowledge as sources for this post:
www.slideshare.net/londonink1/bob-london-discover-your-customers-elevator-rant
www.inc.com/tom-searcy/5-great-questions-ceos-ask-customers.html
