Anyone who receives a product from you is a customer or client. The customer needs something from you, and hopefully, they get it from you.
Unfortunately, what the customer needs may not match what the customer gets from you. That spells "dissatisfied customer" or maybe "lost customer." It is imperative to find ways to determine if they are satisfied with what you give them. That will help your career or your business.
Truth Tables
A "truth table" helps you divide and think about an issue, especially any two items that you see as linked together. For example, you might say, "Excellent parents have excellent kids." That is what we would like to believe, but a truth table reveals a better answer.
After seeing the video and reading the information below, create a truth table with "Excellent parents" and "Excellent children" as the two elements and see what you learn.
Customer Needs & Gets Truth Table
The truth table shown below in the video thumbnail highlights that a customer's needs are not always met. Of course, that is obvious from experience. But it isn't apparent to us enough because we rationalize our product, service, and performance.
Too often, your belief may be that you provide something to the customer that is important and beneficial. But does the customer see it that way? That thinking says, "the customer gets what they need," but there is no verification whether that is true.
A truth table wakes you up to reality. More importantly, it helps you consider the obvious questions you need to ask customers regularly.
Check here, here, and here for additional information about customer satisfaction here, here, and here.
Reality or Fantasy
The truth table is straightforward, but it does help to go through it to make sure that you understand it. Watching the video is a good idea.
The first four cells on the left in the table above are based on 50% of reality.
The two "+" signs in the first two cells say that the customer needs something, and they get it. Or, they get what they need. The following two cells with the two "-" signs show that they don't need it and don't get it.
Obvious, right?
From your view, not the customer, if they purchase your product or service, they need it, and they get it. Otherwise, they don't buy it. Additionally, if they have been with you for a while, you may think that the first two boxes represent 100% of reality. In other words, they stay with me because they get what they need.
Or, suppose you use the same table related to your work. "My boss and co-workers must be getting what they need from me because I am still here!"
On the surface, both of those beliefs may be true. But how about digging deeper. Most likely, you find needs that aren't met. It may be the difference in rating your product or performance a six versus an eight on a 1 to 10 scale. Overall, things are on the positive side, but what about improvement?
So, the last four cells on the right present the rest of reality. Sometimes a customer needs "+" something but doesn't "-" get it. And, sometimes, a customer does not "-" need something, but they get "+" it.
The Two Questions
Those situations create two simple questions to ask clients, co-workers, or bosses.
- What are you getting that you don't need?
- What do you need that you aren't getting?
Straightforward questions and highly useful. If you don't get much response from those questions, you can use other variations like
- What are some things (actions, attitudes, or behaviors) you would like MORE from me?
- What are some things (actions, attitudes, or behaviors) you would like LESS from me?
Think about asking your boss or co-workers who receive your work product either of those questions. Even if they have no feedback, you advertise to them that you want feedback.
That is what high performers do - seek feedback to enhance their performance!