Devoted to branding and building and protecting brands

A member of our Network, Overtone, is co-hosting a Webinar with us next week (April 23) ostensibly about gathering intelligence about  customers.  What it really is: a teaching moment about self-delusion.  So many of us delude ourselves into believing that “listening to customers” is part of our regular routine.  In fact, the harder we listen the less intelligent we can become.  Companies almost never get statistically significant data from customers and prospects, a.k.a. the marketplace, relying on an occasional focus group or a random customer satisfaction survey.  Or, god forbid, G2 from the field.  Are things ever as bad or as good as salespeople say?  Overtone’s approach, by contrast, relied upon by the likes of Microsoft and eHarmony, amounts to a 24/7 pipe into the not-so-secret world of the customer.  Statistically significant numbers of them. Most of us might not be able to afford what Overtone’s big clients pay for the pipe, but the principles of listening and applying what can be learned, which they intend to share in this Webinar, might amaze you.  Most important, they’re practical things you can start doing right away. Unless you want to depend on the field.