Isolated Customer Base and Team Work July, 2014 | Page 2

Understanding the Impact of Customer Isolation on Teams
The idea of complacency in businesses can be both beneficial and harmful. Especially
when we speak of a business which is highly consumer intensive; a successful venture may allow
some entrepreneurs to become excessively confident. As a result, these leaders focus their future
projects only within their comfort zones. While there is no harm associated with being successful
and confident but to rely merely on ones belief without focusing on the consumer needs, wants
and changes is a definite suicide signal. This may be termed as “insulation of a business”, where
it is unable to keep in touch with its customers. It is crucial for every business to keep real world
relevance in their operations in order to guarantee success. The best way to succeed in your
efforts is to connect to your audience, find out their needs, identify any shifting consumer
behaviors and be prepared for the same.
Businesses that fail to gain insight into the needs and changing demands of their
customers are unable to thrive for a long time. The prime reason behind this is that they have
isolated themselves from potential novel ideas and sources of motivation. Some of the most
successful businesses ensure that they stay connected to the real life benefits of their customers.
While new product development is an intensive process which calls for high levels of
creativity; some of the most successful development teams believe that customer input needs to
be integrated into the process at an early stage. This allows them to save efforts and resources
that would otherwise be wasted if the product turns out to be something other than what the
customer wants. This ongoing customer feedback loop allows these teams to stay motivated and
energized by communicating with their end users.
In contrast to product development teams that work in isolation, teams that consider
consumer input as an important part of their efforts are able to see firsthand results of their
efforts. This means that they not only get to see the results but are also able to enjoy a sense of
satisfaction from the received appreciation. Similarly, a feedback makes room for areas of
improvement.
Companies need to realize that consumer input will help them gain the perspective of the
final market. This will not only help the consumers feel important but will also help the company
to generate new leads to identify areas of improvement. Apart from direct and face-to-face
communication, companies can also opt for other media through which interaction with
consumer is possible. With a plethora of online communities present on the internet, these
companies can track the problems and issues being faced by the consumers in light of a
particular product. It is worth mentioning here however that any team that works hand in hand
with consumers should not be isolated from the company. Such a team must interact with other
departments and teams and provide them with anecdotes relevant to their areas of expertise.
Connecting with customers will allow the teams to inject passion and purpose into their work.
http://www.researchomatic.com/customer-focus-for-strategic-advantage-179497.html

Understanding the Impact of Customer Isolation on Teams