Relationships are an intrinsic part of being human. We build connections and shared understandings to help us navigate our way through the world. This is as true in our professional lives as much as it is our personal ones.
I recently had the pleasure of joining VoxPopMe’s Jennifer Vogal on the Reel Talk podcast where we discussed the importance of relationships in improving customer understandings.
The link might not be immediately apparent. Surely, we elevate our customer understanding through our research. Yes, and… relationships elevate our research.
When we build relationships that lead with trust, that foster empathy, that supports vulnerability, that respects and welcomes alternative lenses, we create an environment that cultivates high quality outcomes and delivers deeper customer insights.
We can:
Leverage the expertise of others. We can look to internal and external partners, as well as our stakeholders and interested parties to draw upon their perspectives, their understandings, and seek their guidance.
Ask the right questions. Asking the right question is critical, but it is not always easy to identify precisely what it should be. The perspectives obtained through our relationships helps us better understand the problem area and get us closer to that all important question.
Iterate rather than recreate. Through our relationships, we learn about existing knowledge enabling us to build upon it and further understandings as opposed to duplicating efforts.
Relationships do not just happen. They require an ongoing commitment to the time and effort necessary to cultivate strong connections. However, it is time well spent to improve our customers understandings. They also come with the bonus of enjoying authentic human-to-human interactions as part of our daily working environment.
If you would like more, you can listen to the Podcast here (and there's many other great episodes to enjoy while you are there).