Talk with your most demanding and forward-thinking customers

When a company decides to connect with customers, what are the best questions to ask? What should they be on the lookout for to increase their agility?

Look for changes that are occurring in your customers’ behavior, values, and world. For example, if you are a B2B company, ask your customers how technology is changing the way they do business, and ask how their customers are changing.

Perhaps even more important than what questions you ask customers is what types of customers you talk with and observe. Talking with your most demanding and forward-thinking customers—those who are on the cutting edge of changes in the marketplace—is key.

Good questions to ask:

• What problem does this product or service solve for you? How is this problem changing?
• What are the other ways you could have solved this problem?
• How is the way you use the product or service changing?
• What new problems does the product or service create?
• How could the experience be improved, or customized for different types of users?