Do You Possess the Skills to Enhance Customer Benefits?
I have been writing blogs based on a chapter in my recent book The 'Benefit' Blueprint for Startup Success. It is about 25 questions every entrepreneur must ask themselves.
This blog brings me to the 13th question. If you want a deep dive into other questions, please subscribe to my blog.
The question is :
Do I possess or am planning to acquire skills specifically for enhancing customer benefits? Asking the right question is the key. Customers want the benefit of arriving earlier at their destination than was possible, however often they cannot look into the future so framing the question around benefits or the 'what' rather than the ‘how’ makes a key difference.
For any successful business, the ability to consistently deliver benefits that matter is a core strength. It extends beyond delivering what customers want today.
You must anticipate what they’ll value in the future.
To succeed, it’s essential to ask the right questions and cultivate the skills to allow you to frame those questions around customer benefits—the “what” rather than the “how.” Much needed for creating meaningful outcomes that resonate with customers at a deeper level.
“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” - Peter Drucker
To truly understand and serve your customers, you must acquire skills that extend beyond traditional business knowledge, to identify and enhance the benefits that customers value most. This transferable skill should help you beyond the business.
Why the “What” of Customer Benefits Matters More Than the “How”
It’s common to get bogged down in the technicalities of delivery—the “how” of making things happen. All specialists have a tendency to prioritise “How”! However, customers are primarily interested in the outcome they receive. They may want to reach their destination faster, in style, or while enjoying a scenic drive, but they’re less concerned with the intricacies of the technology that makes it possible.
This shift from a “how” mindset to a “what” mindset requires a fundamental change in thinking. Arriving in a beaten down old car or in a Rolls Royce are not the same thing.
It is a different set of skills that allow you to define, measure, and enhance the benefits you deliver.
For example, instead of asking how you can improve the speed of your service, consider what this improvement means for your customers. Does it save them time, reduce stress, or enable them to accomplish more in their day?
A study by PwC found that “32% of customers are willing to walk away from a brand they love after just one bad experience” (source), highlighting the importance of getting these benefits right.
These “what” questions allow you to frame your skills and efforts around the ultimate value customers derive, leading to more impactful and customer-focused solutions.
Essential Skills for Enhancing Customer Benefits
To ensure you’re consistently providing value, here are some key skills to focus on, along with practical steps and examples to acquire or develop them:
1. Empathy and Customer Insight
Understanding customer benefits begins with empathy—the ability to put yourself in your customer’s shoes and truly understand their needs, desires, and pain points. Empathy allows you to frame your thinking around what customers value rather than what you assume they want. We are all concerned that AI+Robotics will take our jobs and impact our future, think again, machines will not be able to replace human empathy. If you work relies on empathy your job is more likely to be future-proof.
Example: Airbnb used empathy to redefine its user experience by sending designers to hosts’ homes to see the challenges and opportunities first-hand. This led to enhancements that improved host and guest satisfaction, helping Airbnb scale rapidly.
How to develop this skill: Engage with customers directly, listen actively to their feedback, and make a conscious effort to understand their experiences. Empathy is less about training and more about practice—regular, thoughtful engagement with customers will hone this skill over time.
Actionable Step: Schedule regular customer interviews or feedback sessions. Focus on asking open-ended questions about their goals, challenges, and experiences with your product or service. “Companies with a strong empathy-driven culture enjoy higher higher customer retention” . By honing this skill, you can create a more resonant customer experience.
2. Asking the Right Questions
The art of asking the right questions is essential for uncovering customer benefits. Customers may not always know exactly what they want or what’s possible, but by asking insightful, benefit-oriented questions, you can uncover latent needs and desires.
Example: Toyota's development of the Lexus involved asking customers how they wanted to feel while driving a luxury vehicle, rather than simply focusing on technical features. This led to a focus on comfort, sound insulation, and smoothness—elements that became defining traits of Lexus vehicles.
How to develop this skill: Practice framing questions around the “what” rather than the “how.” For example, instead of asking, “How can we improve our service speed?” consider asking, “What does a faster service allow our customers to achieve?”
Actionable Step: When gathering feedback, reframe each question to focus on the end benefit. Asking ‘what’ questions instead of ‘how’ questions improves both customer satisfaction and actionable feedback. This approach will help you uncover deeper insights into what matters most to your customers.
3. Analytical Thinking and Benefit Measurement
Understanding customer benefits is only half the battle; you must also be able to measure these benefits effectively. Analytical thinking allows you to quantify the value your product or service provides, enabling you to make informed decisions about where to focus your efforts.
Example: Netflix uses data analytics extensively to track viewing habits, where customers pause or exit, and their preferred genres. This data allows Netflix to improve recommendations and develop new content, enhancing the customer experience. “80% of viewer activity on Netflix comes from personalised recommendations”
How to develop this skill: Invest time in learning data analysis techniques and tools that can help you track key metrics related to customer benefits. Focus on metrics that measure outcomes—such as time saved, convenience, or satisfaction—rather than just operational metrics.
Actionable Step: Identify and track specific metrics tied to customer benefits. For instance, if your product saves customers time, measure the average time saved and communicate this value to your customers. This quantifiable benefit reinforces the impact of your offering and keeps customer focus sharp.
4. Innovation and Creative Problem Solving
Customer needs evolve, and so must the benefits you provide. Creative problem-solving skills allow you to think beyond the conventional, finding new ways to enhance customer benefits and stay ahead of competitors. This often involves rethinking how benefits are delivered and experimenting with new approaches to meet changing needs.
Example: Amazon consistently used creative problem-solving to enhance customer benefits. From introducing one-click ordering to Prime’s two-day shipping, Amazon redefined convenience.
5. Communication Skills: Translating Features into Benefits
Even the most meaningful benefits are of little value if customers don’t understand them. Communication skills are essential for translating the technical features of your product into clear, relatable benefits that customers can appreciate and connect with.
Example: Apple mastered this with the iPod launch, choosing to describe it as “1,000 songs in your pocket” rather than focusing on technical storage specifications. This simple phrasing captured the convenience and value customers would experience, making it easier for them to understand and appreciate the product’s benefit.
Recommended Books
For those interested in diving deeper, here are some top customer-centric business books available on Amazon:
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek (link)
The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries (link)
The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact by Chip Heath and Dan Heath (link)
This Is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See by Seth Godin (link)
I have been writing blogs based on a chapter in my recent book The 'Benefit' Blueprint for Startup Success. It is about 25 questions every entrepreneur must ask themselves. I have been writing blogs based on a chapter in my recent I have been writing blogs based on a chapter in my recent book The 'Benefit' Blueprint for Startup Success. It is about 25 questions every entrepreneur must ask themselves. book The 'Benefit' Blueprint for Startup Success. It is about 25 questions every entrepreneur must ask themselves.
This topic is an expanded article from my book THE ‘BENEFIT’ BLUEPRINT FOR STARTUP SUCCESS Chapter 3, Question 13.
© Sameer Babbar
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Disclaimer: This is for information only. It does not consider your objectives, financial situation, or needs. The author, his company, his associates, his directors, his staff, his consultants, and his advisors do not accept liability for any loss or damage, including, without limitation, any loss that may arise directly or indirectly from the use of or reliance on the information provided