Know who you are. That is foundational. But once you do, focus less on yourself and more on your customer.
Who is your customer? I am not talking about your target customer. I’m talking about the one(s) you already have. What needs do they have that you are not or are not willing to meet? What are you ignoring or choosing to ignore about their needs. It could be that it’s because it’s outside of your business model or your scope and that’s okay – as long as a majority of your customers don’t have the same need. If they do, you may be seriously misaligned with your customer. Change your mindset and you could be poised for growth and a happy clientele.
Do your customers prefer a different type of communication than you offer?
It’s easy to send an email or paper invoice to a customer, but what if your customers prefer a phone call or face-to-face communications? Pay attention to how they contact you and learn from them, then adapt – even if it is uncomfortable for you. You are in business because of them. Without customers you have no business.
And lastly, pay attention to words like ‘wish’ and ‘hope’ in conversations.
Picking up on key words of wanting like ‘wish’ and ‘hope’ can be great indicators of new advice, products, or services that you could be offering.