What can we learn from our worst customers?

Some of the business owners that I meet and work with can find it hard to answer the question: Can you describe your best customers to me?

I, generally, ask this question as getting a good understanding of what a good customer is and who their best customers are is the foundation of any growth or retention marketing.

There are many reasons that we can use to explain why they find it hard to explain what is best or what they like. However, pondering that does not help us answer the question in hand.

Therefore, an alternative approach may be to ask a different question: Can you describe your worst customers to me?

Is this not the same question? Well, not always.

Often this different approach can produce a long list of characteristics and situations that stick in the owners mind. Why? Because for many people it’s the stuff that is not right, is frustrating, is painful or just plain difficult that sticks in the mind and is memorable.

Taking the answers from the second question and then inverting them can be really helpful in helping businesses get closer to describing their best customers.

What could you learn from your worst customers?

Thanks to Lara604 for the image.