Do You Hear What I Hear?

“Do you hear what I hear?” This evokes the famous Christmas song written by Noël Regney and Gloria Shayne Baker in 1962 and performed by Bing Crosby, but it is also an important question. Are you asking the necessary questions to both hear and understand what is most important about your business or are you only seeing your own reflection? Have you asked your loyal clients what they most value about your service or product? Even if you are the leader in your sector, you might be surprised by their answer.

Caliber1Solutions (C1S) was asked by a well-respected organization that services the healthcare industry to review the price structure for their data licenses. In turn, C1S asked them what their customers most valued about their product and service. Although they had made educated conclusions about the value that they provided, they had not directly asked their customer this question. When C1S interviewed some of their customers, they, like others, learned some valuable insights and their clients loved the opportunity to provide meaningful feedback. In their case, they learned that although the analytics of the data were valued, the credibility associated with this data was their most valued attribute. This shifted their price elasticity curve, influenced their business model and informed their messaging.

On another occasion, C1S worked with cardiovascular specialists at a well-respected university hospital. They believed that their patients were referred to them from other physicians primarily because of their leading-edge research and technology. After interviewing their actual and potential referral communities, we learned that referrals were more frequently driven by communication and education from the specialist to the referring physician and ease of scheduling procedures. Based on this information, we developed and implemented a business development model that accelerated their cardiovascular procedural business and advanced its reputation.

C1S interviewed decision makers from a Managed Service Provider’s current client base as well as decision makers that selected an alternative provider. An understanding was gained of why the provider was winning and losing in the market place, why alternative solutions were sometimes selected and the prospect’s perception of the provider’s value proposition relative to the market place. C1S identified different types of prospects based on what drove their selection decision and correlations to their business type. Future marketing content development will align with the Customer Personas identified based on client needs and market position.

The positioning, pricing, messaging and operational implications of these insights were significant to each of these organizations. Are you seeing past your own reflection? Are you hearing what’s most important to your most valued clients?