In a 1991 film “The Doctor” William Hurt played the main role – portraying a doctor whose manner towards patients left a lot to be desired!
His attitude began to change however when he was diagnosed with cancer and himself became a patient. This different perspective showed him just how badly many in the medical establishment were treating patients.
The experience transformed him – towards the end of the film he actually made trainee doctors don hospital gowns to get closer to the reality being experienced by patients.
The implication was obvious. He wanted them to experience what it’s really like to lie interminably on a trolley, or the loneliness of being treated impersonally at a traumatic time, or the frustration at not really being listened to.
If the trainee doctors could experience this they in turn would hopefully never forget that their own future patients are real people, with their individual stories, fears, hopes & dreams.
Do you know how your business is viewed by your customers?
Do you know what it’s like to walk in their shoes? Don their gown? Get out from behind your literal or figurative counter and look back in?
Do you understand the full customer experience that your business delivers?
To do so requires that you seek out, listen to and hear the voice of the customer. There are many ways to achieve this. You can survey or interview your customers. You can conduct focus groups of your customers. If your business deals directly with the public you can use mystery shoppers. If you’re senior enough to not be familiar to your frontline staff you could perhaps even do some mystery shopping yourself!
So there are a variety of tools available to you. But the starting point, like with William Hurt, is your own attitude. If you want help listening to your customers I’d be glad to help. Just click here to schedule a time for us to talk. We’ll have a short (and free) chat to see if I can help you.
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