Our unique Customer Focus Questions, Tests, and Prompts mimic the Perspective of a critical, but creative, Customer

… to spot ‘hidden’ performance (sales) barriers and stimulate practical ideas for solutions and improvements. Ideas that are successful because they were stimulated by focusing on the Customers’ Awareness, Buying, and Using Process.

We can apply them to any aspect of your business - strategy, plans, products, operations, processes, people, culture, communications - to check Business---Customer focus balance and stimulate ideas to improve business performance.

Customer Focus Questions are questions that all customers ask (usually subconsciously) when being ‘sold to’. For example: “What’s being sold?” …   “How does it work?” … “Why should I buy it?”  Also Quality Assurance Questions that check the ease by which customers can see or hear clear, convincing ‘answers’ to their ‘Buying Questions’. 

These Questions developed from our experience as professional Buyers. We created them (as Buyers) to help us analyse bids and select the best suppliers. We have adapted them to include the ‘awareness’ stage of the Buying Process.

This is Marketing and Selling ... as seen from the Customers’ Perspective.

Tests check that a plan or product or operation or communications is Customer Focused, ie it aligns with, and stimulates, the customer’s Awareness, Buying, and Using Process. Examples include: “Goal Analysis Test” (for assessing objectives); “Needs/Features/Benefits Analysis”; and dozens of Effective-Communication Tests such as: “Meaning?” …  “Readability” … “First Scan” … ”Negativity” … “Value for Money”,    ... and the killer “So-What?” Test (“So what’s in it for me?”).

Prompts are generic suggestions and tools that stimulate effective ‘answers’ to these Customer Questions. For example, suggestions that prompt good, clear ‘answers’ to the customers’ unspoken question “What’s interesting about …?” or “What are you selling?” (description tool), or the key Buying Question: “Cost-Benefit Analysis?” (showing customers that the benefits outweigh the cost).