CRM Surveys Missing Big Picture

Recently I was reading an article titled “Get Inside the Lives of Your Customers” by Patricia Seybold. In the article, she outlines that companies are often focusing their customer relationship management efforts too much on who the person is, and are not paying attention to what the person really needs in the moment. Her main thought is that companies need to look more at the customer’s specific buying scenario, not just on the customer’s personality and what they like to buy.

Let’s illustrate this idea with the following example. Two identical twins with identical buying habits come in to a camera shop. Everything about these two people is the same.

They buy the same things, wear the same clothes – they are identical people. They are even looking at the same camera. Based on what we know about CRM, they should be treated the same.

But what we don’t know is the scenario. What if we added the fact that one twin is about to leave on a plane in three hours and their original digital camera just broke, while the other twin has simply been toying with the idea of becoming a photographer. Suddenly the scenario changes.

The twin in a hurry is more desperate, and represents a much easier sales opportunity. The other twin may not be making a purchase today and is certainly in no rush.

However, they may also be a great cross-selling candidate, since they are toying with the idea of a hobby that could lead them to other purchases.

What this example demonstrates is a fundamental problem with the way companies run their CRM campaigns today. Many companies are spending too much of their efforts understanding who their customer is and what they need. Yet it’s clear that the scenario in which the customer is deciding to make the purchase can have a profound effect on their buying habits.

Desperation is far more likely to lead to a purchase, while prospective buyers may represent better long term buying potential. As you create and run your survey research regarding customer buying habits, it’s important to also pay attention to ways to find scenarios, because scenarios can have a profound effect on your CRM model, and may drastically alter the way you generate business. In a later post, I’ll discuss some of my own ideas on how companies can collect, analyze and use that data.