What does the customer want?

Most companies will have a pretty good idea of what their customers want, broadly speaking. They’re customers, of course, so clearly they want whatever it is the company’s selling.

But a bit deeper than that. How do they want it? What are they less than thrilled about? Would they rather it was faster or cheaper, more convenient or more friendly?

Or available in red?

Over and above the transactional, what do they want?

The Value Exchange is framed so that a company’s obsession with creating value for its customers, translates into value for the business.

Not a buzzword. A solution.

Here are some buzzwords for you. Customer Centricity means ‘putting your customer first in order to provide a positive experience and build relationships’. Customer Obsession is ‘a focus on creating a better customer experience, and a commitment to a customer-first approach’.

We’re not arguing.

We’re 100% behind this mindset – which in the here and now seems almost self-evident.

The Value Exchange simply lays out a way to achieve it.

The principle of reciprocity

Profit and success are obvious reasons why a business should engage in the kind of value exchange that puts customers first.

Doing so helps companies gain all kinds of advantages. Customers willingly sharing information and insights can help with everything from effective personalisation, to actually making improvements to products and services that customers actually want.

And of course it works both ways. A value exchange is a system of reciprocal arrangements whereby all parties benefit from what the others bring to it. A virtuous circle of mutual interest.

The principle of reciprocity can be found in every area of business, from sales and persuasion, to user interface design, to life coaches. But it runs deeper than business.

It’s one of civilisation’s oldest pillars. In ethics it’s known as “The Golden Rule”, meaning the idea of treating others as you would like to be treated. It’s found in pretty much all the world’s religions. First known to have appeared in an ancient Egyptian story from around 2000BC, it’s also evident in the writings of ancient India, Persia, Africa, China, Greece, and Rome.

So it’s an old idea. In modern business, it also makes an awful lot of sense.

Technology driving the change

Third-party cookies are going to die because people don’t like their data being used without their knowledge or consent.

Zero party data, where a customer willingly and consciously provides their information – such as their preferences, interests and intentions – brings a whole new level of cooperation to data collection.

They’re saying what they want, in a way that’s useful to them, as well as the company. Make your customers interested and invested in giving you the best information about them, and suddenly that relationship takes on a whole new shape.

A value exchange doesn’t have to be an equal exchange. As long as every party benefits, everyone wins.

Why reviews work

Reviews are a great way to help you create a value exchange with your customers. They give you an understanding of what your customers truly value, their opinions and experiences freely given, which in turn helps you fulfil their needs. This virtuous circle feeds itself, and benefits not only you and your customers, but your future customers as well.

Why read reviews?

It’s always been true that if you want to find out about the pros and cons of a product or service, the last people you should ask are the people selling it.

They will generally accentuate the positives and gloss over the negatives. And obsess over their USP (arguably a marketing construct and not a thing real people care about) and other messages they’re mad keen on, but you’re probably not.

If you want to know what it’s really like to live with that car, stay in that place, carry that rucksack or bank with that bank, you’re better off listening to someone who’s already done it.

Why write reviews?

Everyone likes to feel useful. To feel like our insights are meaningful, that our opinions matter.

Generally, we enjoy helping other people – it’s a good feeling knowing that someone else has benefited from your experience.

Reviews are a great way to feel useful, valued, heard. To be as useful to someone else as someone else was to you, when you read their reviews and benefited from their experience.

How feefo can help

Pretty much all your customers read reviews. And a large proportion of them will write them too. Trust is crucial, so reviews have to be verified, that’s a given.

New customers will want to know what existing ones think – and you want to make that as easy for them as possible. That’s one reason.

Another is feedback. Feedback is a gift – your customers’ gift to you. Finding out what they think of what you do produces invaluable insights. Collating, acting on and responding to concerns, problems and suggestions builds trust, and can only help you improve your business. And ultimately, your profits.

This relationship works for everyone. They all get value from it in different ways. Harnessing it, and helping it gain momentum and become even more self-sustaining, is one of the most useful and positive things a business can do.

The value is in the relationships themselves, the communities they create, and the information they highlight. Consumers feel involved and heard, and the data helps us build a picture of what’s working and what needs work.