Are you content or a risk-taker?

The advent of August brings the end of summer.  Kids head back to school, the final weekend of the summer is only a few weeks away and management starts thinking about meeting season.

August also is a harbinger of planning season. While the economy appears to be improving for some, for many it is still challenging, especially with many markets not seeing growth in the ever important non-residential private construction market.  The lack of economy-driven growth results in the need for initiatives to take market share and inevitably “differentiate” oneself to achieve sales objectives.

But, many companies’ planning process begins, and ends, at the head of the table with next year not being much different than this year.  And, unfortunately, Einstein’s famous quote regarding insanity (“doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”) is a truism.

To avoid decline and obsolescence you need the voice of your customer – be they end-users / contractors or distributors and reps; you need to know how you are performing and what they need (and you’d be surprised how few ask and how much they are willing to share!)

So the question becomes, how are you soliciting input from your customers (or are you only talking to your best customers … the ones you have a personal relationship with)?

And, as a shameless plug, both of us assist manufacturers and distributors solicit customer insights and together we can capture some in-depth insights to support your go-to-market strategy.  Give us a call.