Member Contribution by Mark Miller of Volaris

CEO at Volaris Group – We strengthen businesses and enable them to be clear leaders within their focused industry.

In today’s marketplace, it is important to tell customer stories rather than push products. The companies within Volaris are passionate about the products they offer and care a lot about them. In some cases, they spend decades working on their products to ensure that their customers get the most value out of them. Unfortunately, sometimes this mentality can lead you into a trap of thinking that the business is all about its products – well it’s not.

It’s about its customers. Understanding what problems you’re solving for your customers or what value you are adding is what it is all about.

One of the great ways to make sure you’re listening to your customers is to tell customer stories. There’s all sorts of ways to do that, with case studies being a sure-fire option. But it’s imperative to listen to what the customer is saying when they’re telling their story. It isn’t only about how they use one of the products or solutions you have, it’s about how they do their job and how they get done what they need to get done.

Then you really understand where your customer is coming from. Those stories are great because you can use it to make sure that your team understands exactly what the customer is thinking. As well, other customers or potential customers might learn from those stories. It’s so much better than putting a list of product names up and trying to talk about what each product does. Instead, talk about what a customer does and how they use your solution or technology.

I firmly believe that’s the way to go. Not only do you connect with your customers, but you also ensure that your products stay current with what your customers’ needs are.