Here's the rest of the list I mentioned yesterday about finding and keeping key voices:
1. Consistently bring in new blood – Too many companies rely on the same key voices over and over to help them develop their strategic thinking. For instance, it’s important for consultants to understand your business, but the reality is that any market is just too complicated to rely on any single perspective to understand it. Likewise, when developing a dialogue with translators it is essential to refresh their numbers for every investigation. That’s not to say that a few key voices shouldn’t stay involved. But it is important to re-interview the translators that you are having a dialogue with for every project. This keeps things fresh.
2. Respect their opinions and their time – I’ve been in the field with way too many companies who consider their customers a necessary evil. It’s always amazing to watch as a company has a conversation with its customers but doesn’t respect their time or opinions. How many times have you heard someone say that their customers don’t know what they want or dismiss an idea as one that has already been tried? The superior attitude comes through loud and clear when you’re listening to someone. Just remember, there is always something to learn.
3. Don’t burn them out – It’s easy to establish a dialogue with a key customer and then begin to really rely on that one perspective. That person becomes your “go-to guy.” It’s great to have a few of these relationships in your quiver, but it’s important to remember that while you might spend 80 percent of your life thinking about your work, chances are your customer probably doesn’t. Connect with them often, but give them a break every once in awhile.
4. Keep Listening – None of us can be reminded too many times to slow down and listen. You can get halfway to where you want to go if you aren’t able to do anything else besides listen.
