Demanding Customers Motivate Innovation

Someone recently asked me which customers I enjoy working with the most. As I crafted my response, I chuckled, because my favorite customer is often the most difficult and demanding. They are always asking us to do more, to push our product beyond its capabilities and they keep me thinking about how we can exceed their expectations well beyond the classic work day. I call them our “lightning customers.” They are a partner who is, in many respects, more capable, has higher expectations of your team or your product than you do and isn’t afraid to share their opinions, their pain points and their insights. Lightning customers push us to problem solve, think outside the box and stress test our biggest ideas.

The mission of my team is to enable millions of people to work the way they choose. We believe that when we use the tools that make our lives easier, work gets better. The energy our most engaged customers put into providing feedback on their experiences helps us to improve the business, and no one does this better than a lightning customer.

But a lightning customer is just that — one that doesn’t strike often, packs a ton of energy, and can burn. But they introduce a huge opportunity if you can harness their energy. So, how can you tell the difference between an individual or company that is just difficult and a true lightning customer? There are three questions I ask when I sense I’m working with one:

Privacy first, second and third.
In the post-Snowden world, privacy has become a key branding differentiator for the likes of Apple and Microsoft. Seventy-two percent of Americans are reluctant to share information with businesses because they “just want to maintain [their] privacy.” But respecting privacy need not be confined to pledges of fighting government information requests, using the latest encryption technology, and promises not to sell user data. Respect for privacy, and the concomitant building of trust with customers, can start with simply not asking customers for any more information than is absolutely necessary. For example, consumers are often told that when dealing with an unfamiliar business, requests for unnecessary information should be seen as a red flag. That is, if you’re buying a pair of sneakers online, there is no reason that a business should be asking for your birth date, social security number, annual income, copies of your ID or credit card, and so on (you’d be surprised by how many online businesses ask for these things). On SiteJabber, one of the most common customer complaints involves businesses that ask for too much personal information too soon. So a great way to build trust is to limit the information you collect from customers in the first place. And even if you pass up near-term marketing opportunities, the trust you build with customers can be worth much more down the road.

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