How do successful startups gain a competitive advantage, get more clients, and retain the clients they already have?

They take the time to understand the wants and needs of their clients.

This deep understanding of your clients is a research method known as Voice of Client (VoC) – the process of collecting insights from your customers on why they purchased your product or service and what their expectations are.

In this article I uncover why VoC is so crucial to helping startups become successful and share some lessons I have learned along the way.

Why is VoC so important for startups?

Oftentimes when startup founders, long term executives, or even other marketers set out to write a marketing plan, they begin by defining business goals, doing a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis, and identifying their target customer. While these are all important steps, if you stop there, you’ll undoubtedly fall short.

In my 15 years of experience in working with startup founders and CEOs, the most successful companies not only understand their customers but they incorporate VoC into their marketing and corporate plans.

Most startup founders forget that your metaphorical target customer is a real person, with a voice of their own (even if that real person represents an enterprise). The good news? You already have great examples of your target customer – your existing customers. Whether you have 5 or 55 customers, the people who have already purchased your product can be your best resource.

Here are a few high level insights that VoC can tell you:

• Why new prospects need your product

• The benefits that you can provide to new prospects

• The decision making and buying patterns of new prospects

• How you stack up against your competition

Although you may think you know why people buy your product, your clients know better.

This may seem obvious to some, however, VoC is something most startup executives overlook. Founders can get so caught up in launching new products, finding new clients and building out the team, that you forget to listen to those you are serving.

My lessons in understanding the value VoC

I came to understand the importance of the VoC while starting my career as a customer service representative for a healthcare start-up -— listening to clients encompassed my entire job.

Without my knowing, I was conducting my own process of VoC as I diligently documented customer questions, concerns, and problems during the onboarding process. I became a client onboarding expert as I could predict the questions each new customer would ask.

By getting direct, daily feedback I anticipated the information each customer wanted to know earlier in the onboarding process and therefore I could serve clients efficiently. 

Once I moved into sales, I quickly became the number one sales person because I knew what prospects wanted. I could build a tighter story when selling and I was proactive in addressing concerns. This practice of talking to customers became the foundation of my success in sales and eventually in marketing.

VoC impacts your marketing strategy

Marketers typically don’t think of talking to customers as part of their function. For many startups, that effort sits within the customer experience team and unfortunately it stays there.

But, talking to customers is the best way to craft messaging that resonates with your target audience. Successful startups use VoC to feed their marketing strategy. That is why I encourage startup teams to sit down and engage in conversation with your clients so you can bridge the gap between how you want to be perceived in the market and how you really are.

Final thoughts on why VoC matters

Establishing VoC should be thought of the prerequisite to building your marketing plan.

Before you start spending your limited budget on marketing, get crystal clear on why customers buy your product, how you make your customers’ lives better, and how you compare to competitors. If your startup is looking to establish your Voice of Client, I would love to help you. Contact me for a free 30 minute consultation.