Nov 2009
The truth is...well...the truth!
10/11/09 12:53 Filed in: Customers | Customer Experience
If you watch the video, towards the end of the commercial the "underdog" cable guy asks "I was curious why we were listening to customers...seems dumb". This is a powerful message. It clearly takes a shot at the cable companies portraying that they do not listen to their customers. However, it actually goes a little bit deeper than that. If you think about it just a bit more, you can probably anticipate that the cable guy did not like what was being said about why FIOS is better than their cable solution. He did not like hearing the truth from the customers as to why the FIOS service was better than cable. For this reason, he made an unsuccessful attempt to question the whole process by stating that asking customers was "dumb".
We all know that this is a commercial and not "real-life", however unfortunately the reality is that there is a bit more truth to this than people would like to admit. Although I have never heard any person or company state in such blatant terms that it is "dumb" talking to customers, many have demonstrated this belief through their other words and their actions. At the most extreme case I have heard senior executives of companies and even VC's state that "customers do not know what they want/need". The more subtle way of communicating this has been by not engaging with customers at all. No matter which way it is communicated, in many ways these companies are like the cable guy in this commercial in that they do not like...or do not want to hear the truth from their customers and prospects.
So, what's the point of all of this? Well, the bottom line is that it did not matter what the cable guy said or did in this commercial as the truth being shared by the customers was the truth from their perspective. Ignoring it does not change it, and ignoring it does nothing to help to get more customers or to change the customers minds. Had the cable guy sat back, actively listened to the feedback from the clients he could have potentially implemented some change which would win back the customers, and potentially to even gain some competitive advantage. However, he chose just to ignore everything the customers said, and as a result will have to live with the consequences. So, the real questions become, do you want to be like the cable guy, or the FIOS rep? Are you avoiding "the truth"? Have you stuck your head in the sand to avoid the truth? Just remember that the truth remains the truth no matter if you choose to accept it or not.
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