Comments on: Market Research: Listening for the Unexpected http://www.dimensionalresearch.com/blog/2009/04/27/market-research-listening-for-the-unexpected/ Market Research Insights for Technology Companies Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:50:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Christine Fife http://www.dimensionalresearch.com/blog/2009/04/27/market-research-listening-for-the-unexpected/comment-page-1/#comment-37 Christine Fife Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:19:16 +0000 http://www.dimensionalresearch.com/blog/?p=122#comment-37 Great advice for many aspects of business! Too often companies stop listening, even when they have worked hard to allow for customer feedback through expensive tools and regular monitoring. I'm sure you've all heard the saying, "some of the greatest things in life are total mistakes," well, "some of the greatest feedback from the market comes without asking." In my conversation marketing practice we monitor our client's market conversation and assist them on how to engage in the conversation. In this we pay close attention to the "unexpected" comments from the market conversation--not just what is said about our clients and the products, but also what's being said about the direction of their industry. To do that, we preach this to our clients: * Listen to current customers, prospects, industry experts and other influencers in the market space and internalize their feedback to improve your business. * Speak to the overall market conversation with quality, non-marketing-speak content that people want to respond to, inquire about and pass on to others. * Build relationships with market conversation influencers, participants and listeners based on the mutual interest of the consumer problems that need to be solved with product innovation. * Care about what is being said about your products, company, competitors and industry, even if it isn’t what you hope to hear. * Don't be afraid to share your experiences—positive and negative—and your insights as you grow your company. Great advice for many aspects of business! Too often companies stop listening, even when they have worked hard to allow for customer feedback through expensive tools and regular monitoring. I’m sure you’ve all heard the saying, “some of the greatest things in life are total mistakes,” well, “some of the greatest feedback from the market comes without asking.”

In my conversation marketing practice we monitor our client’s market conversation and assist them on how to engage in the conversation. In this we pay close attention to the “unexpected” comments from the market conversation–not just what is said about our clients and the products, but also what’s being said about the direction of their industry. To do that, we preach this to our clients:
* Listen to current customers, prospects, industry experts and other influencers in the market space and internalize their feedback to improve your business.
* Speak to the overall market conversation with quality, non-marketing-speak content that people want to respond to, inquire about and pass on to others.
* Build relationships with market conversation influencers, participants and listeners based on the mutual interest of the consumer problems that need to be solved with product innovation.
* Care about what is being said about your products, company, competitors and industry, even if it isn’t what you hope to hear.
* Don’t be afraid to share your experiences—positive and negative—and your insights as you grow your company.

]]>