Ask These Two Questions to Understand Your Customers
The questions Jesus asks give us insight into strategy and business.
If Jesus asked these two questions, you should too.
Do you know what your customers say about your company or brand as a business leader or owner? Are you confident that your clients and customers understand what your company stands for and how it helps them solve their problems?
When it comes to your company and brand, are your customers and clients clear about who you are, what you do, and why it matters to them?
Spending a couple of weeks in Israel studying the life of Christ heightened my awareness of how identity is (and always will be) deeply rooted in culture.
I’m not talking about our personal, unique identity (e.g., “This is who I am), but about shared identity — the character we share with other people based on what we know and believe about a brand, cause, or movement we support. What we think and say about the brands we believe in and buy from helps us identify others who share and act upon similar beliefs and participate in related activities.
Think of your favorite brand and a product or activity you closely associate with: Apple and the iPhone. Wyndham and vacations. Piaggio and motor scooters.
When I see a pair of white earbuds, I identify that individual as a member of a tribe that prefers Apple products. When I ride my Piaggio motor scooter, other motorcycle riders signal their kinship with a subtle wave as we pass on the road. When I go on vacation at a Wyndham resort, it’s easy to start a conversation with another couple by asking where they are from and if they are owners.
We find community and shared purpose through the beliefs, values, and guiding principles that are part of our shared identity. We express our personalities through symbols and signals, so we can quickly identify each other based on whom we say we are. We assume that the signals we send and the marks we wear represent the best of us, our shared values, and the characteristics of our “brand.”
Two Questions You Must Ask About Your Brand
I can’t help but notice when the questions Jesus asks can give us insight into strategy and business. Two questions he asked are the same two questions you should be asking your customers and your team to help you understand how to articulate your brand and company focus.
In multiple Gospels (Matthew 16:13-16, Mark 8:29, and Luke 9:20), Jesus asked his disciples two profound theological questions about his identity.
The conversation took place near Caesarea Philippi (An area located in the northern part of Israel, by Mount Hermon and the Jordan River), where people worshiped the Greek god, Pan. Jesus chose to do this research in one of the most indulgent areas in Israel.
Jesus took his disciples to a place that Jewish rabbis forbade good Jews to go, in an area (or market) under heavy pagan influence. He wanted to know, “Is the message about me rising above the noise of competing messages about false gods?”
First, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say I am?”
It would help if you were asking your team a similar question:
“What do our customers say about our company?”
“What do our prospective customers say about our company?”
“What does the marketplace say about our company?”
These questions will quickly reveal to you if people understand three key points:
What people think your company does,
How your company helps people solve their problems or achieve a goal, and
Why they should do business with you.
To communicate your company’s purpose with clarity, you must be listening to the story people tell themselves about your company.
When you ask customers these questions and listen intently to what they say (not for what you want to hear), the answers will help you do two things:
Understand if your go-to-market message and services align with the problems your customers need help solving
Evaluate how your brand messaging and customer experience must adapt to change misperceptions and reinforce your business and growth strategy.
When you ask these questions, people know you’re interested in what they think and feel respected when their voice matters. What customer doesn’t love a brand that listens to their needs?
The disciple’s response revealed that people thought of Jesus as many things but not (yet) as the person he was. The public’s perception of him was not faithful to his identity, even though it may have been faithful to the identity people wanted to believe about him.
Jesus Made Certain His Team Was In Agreement
Next, Jesus asked Peter (one of the disciples), “Who do you say I am?”
The disciples were with Jesus every day. If Jesus’ disciples were not on the same page and were not clear on who he was and why he mattered, how could they be disciples?
Your employees and team are with you every day. Does what they understand and believe about your company align with its mission, the leadership, and the identity the company projects to customers?
If your team, message, and marketing aren’t all on the same page, how will your customers know if your company and brand are the right fit for them? How will they be clear about who you are?
Like your customers, everyone in your business must know the same three critical points that you want your customers to believe:
What people think your company does,
How your company helps people solve their problems or achieve a goal, and
Why they should do business with you.
Jesus wasn’t concerned about his “personal brand.” He checked with his closest circle of disciples (his team) to learn what they were hearing from the people. He needed to know if his team understood who he was and why he mattered.
This leadership model is easy for you to practice: Jesus expected his disciples to listen to the people and his team.
When you expect the same from your team, you create unity and alignment in your communications. Listen to your customers and the people that serve them. Ask what they think, and measure their perceptions if you must, so you can avoid wasting time and money trying to sell products and services for problems people don’t have.
When you ask the same questions Jesus asked, you can be confident your brand and messaging will connect with your customers. (Or those people you’ve been trying to attend your church.)