Merge

Terry Weaver is a guest blogger for Merge and also serves on our Board of Advisors.  Terry is the Owner and CEO of Chief Executive Boards International, an exclusive group of business owners, presidents and CEOs whose members are committed to helping each other achieve both their business goals and their life goals.  Members meet regularly as a confidential, collaborative advisory board to help each other become more focused, effective and strategic.  CEBI operates in 11 major US cities.  You can also check out Terry’s Blog at www.chiefexecutiveblog.com.

Most companies put a great deal of time and money into trying to figure out the "next big thing" their customers will need.   Here's the first of two articles on simple and inexpensive ways to imagine your customers' emerging needs.

One company I know of regularly pulls out its old product inquiries and quote requests, looking for a consistent theme of unmet product needs. And they find them. By keeping track of the customer requests you can't meet or RFPs you don't respond to, you can build a knowledge base over time that can be quite useful.

The important thing about that is to keep records of not just what you DO quote, but also those things you DON'T quote -- they'll come in handy when you're looking for ideas to expand your product/service mix. 

I know of a multi-location retail business whose owner said: "We've really simplified that. We have a pad of paper beside the cash register where the clerk writes down "What I Could Have Sold Today" (that a customer asked for and we didn't have). She puts it in the bag with the day's checkout slips and we log those requests."

While writing this, I remembered something my Dad did in his hardware store in the 60's. The delivery truck came from the central warehouse only once a week. When a customer asked for something he didn't have, he put down the customer's name and the requested item on a big piece of wrapping paper that was taped to the countertop right below the cash register drawer. He ordered those items to come on the next truck, and then called the customer as soon as they arrived. In almost every case, the customer still needed the product, and Dad had a sale.

So, if you're looking for new products to develop, new services to develop, or new products to source or stock for your customers, make keeping track of "What I Could Have Sold Today" part of your company culture, and then back that up with a system to capture those requests and trends.