Putting Customers in Control of Research

A lot of companies say they are customer focused, but is your organisation? If customers really are at the heart of your business, why not let them take charge when you are researching them?

Putting your customers in this position may sound like a daunting prospect, but, done properly, it can bring rich rewards. Workshops provide the ideal environment to hand control over to customers. Allowing customers to direct some, or even all, of the workshop agenda means that the focus of the research is driven by their needs and priorities.

We recently ran a programme of customer driven workshops for Easynet, the provider of managed network and hosting solutions to blue chip companies and public sector organisations. Easynet were keen to understand their customers' businesses in more depth. They therefore invited a selection of key clients to two, one day workshops to explore their business challenges- and what Easynet should be doing to help with these. One session was held in leafy Surrey for key UK customers and another outside Barcelona for major European accounts. Rather than pre-empting the issues and setting a fixed direction forthe workshop, customers selected the topics for discussion throughout the day.

A key benefit of this approach is the richness of the information gathered, covering topics which may not have been included in non-customer defined agenda. It also engages customers, and emphasises that an organisation is truly customer focused. Easynet's customers came away feeling valued, particularly as they knew that an action plan was developed directly from their input. In the B2B arena, workshops can also provide the opportunity for relationship building. Easynet gave their customers the chance to have one-on-one sessions with their account managers, as well as other senior members of the company.

The outputs from customer-driven workshops can be used to shape a company's offer, processes and culture. Easynet has used the workshop findings to develop future services, as well as improving customer servicing and satisfaction levels. The results have been widely communicated internally to ensure that the whole company strives to be customer centric in its approach.

If you feel that a customer-driven workshop could be beneficial for your organisation, there are a number of questions for you to consider:

• What customer issues do you want the workshop to address? For instance, product/service development, relationship management, or communications? Or are you happy to leave the objectives for the customer to define?
• How much control do you want to hand over to customers? This applies not just to the agenda, but also any action planning which takes place on the basis of the discussion
• Which customer groups do you want to engage through a workshop?
• Who do you want to involve from your organisation?
• There are also logistical issues to think about, such as where the workshop is held, and how you ensure attendance

Perhaps the most important question of all is how comfortable your organisation is with this sort of approach. After all, you are putting the customer in the driving seat, and this could make some companies nervous. But if you truly want to be a customer orientated organisation, it would be worth taking a deep breath and seeing what happens when you allow your customers to take control of your research.

For more information please contact: Amy Hawthorn: 020 7347 3000 or email amy.hawthorn@ipsos-mori.com