A conversation at a table: someone taking notes with an orange pen, among coffee cups and material samples

InsightsCustomer insights

How are your customers changing, and what do they need?

Customers often change faster than organisations notice. The Next Organization maps how your customers’ behaviour, expectations and needs are shifting. So you can respond before they leave. Even satisfied customers leave when someone else matches their expectations better.

Sound familiar?

Your picture of the customer rests on assumptions from sales
Your customers are satisfied, but buying less
Customers switch to a competitor and you do not know why
You do not know who makes the decision at the customer's organisation
Customers mainly call to ask where something is
Sales and service each tell a different story about the customer

What is customer insight?

Customer insight is about the customer: who they are, what they want and how they buy, use and switch. It is not the same as customer satisfaction. Satisfaction measures how customers rate what you offer today; customer insight explains what they want and how that is changing. It looks ahead, where satisfaction mostly looks back.

Four shifts among your customers

We look at four kinds of shift.

Satisfaction looks back Customer insight looks ahead

Shift: Who

The question: How is the make-up of your customers and segments changing?
Shift: What

The question: Which new needs and higher expectations are emerging?
Shift: How

The question: How are buying behaviour, usage and the willingness to switch changing?
Shift: Where

The question: Which channels do customers choose?

For the long term we use our Future of Customer Interaction framework, with megatrends such as an ageing population, AI and connectivity. Also look at who really decides: that is not always your biggest customer.

Together with Market insights, customer insights form the basis for your strategic choices.

What you get

You get a clear picture of how your customers and their needs are changing. That picture rests on conversations with customers and on data, not on assumptions. It is the starting point for choosing your Target groups and shaping your Value proposition. So you invest in what customers will value tomorrow.

Frequently asked questions

How do you map customer needs?

Start by talking to customers themselves, and test what sales thinks about the customer against what the customer says. Add data on revenue per customer group and channel use. That way you see what customers do, not just what they say.

How many customers should you talk to?

Enough to see patterns within each customer group. Once new conversations stop telling you anything new, you have spoken to enough. A few in-depth conversations per group tell you more than a broad survey.

How often should you update your customer insights?

At least with every new strategy round, and sooner if your market changes noticeably. In between, keep an eye on signals such as customer churn, complaints and shifting channel use. That way you spot a change before it shows up in your revenue.

What does customer contact tell you about your customer?

Look at why customers get in touch, not just how often. If the contact comes from a genuine question, you learn something about the customer. If it comes from confusion or errors, fix your own process first.