I remember as if it were today, when a professor told a very interesting story in college. I don’t know if it’s true or not.
But it caught my attention. At the time, a toothpaste company was looking for a solution to increase its sales.
Several sales consultants were called in to try to solve the puzzle, but they could not reach the established goals.
It was then that going up the lift, they were discussing what to do, and a girl who worked in cleaning listening to them talking asked permission to enter the conversation and said:
- May I make a suggestion?
They all looked at her with a certain amazement, but agreed to hear her suggestion, and she continued:
- The toothpaste has a very small hole, it is horrible even to pass on the toothbrush. I think that if the hole was bigger, more paste would come out, it would run out faster and you would sell more.
At that moment, not only this company adopted the idea heard, but it was copied by all the others in the market.
What is the moral of this story?
This little story, regardless of being true or not, has a very interesting moral. It shows how important it is to listen to all voices in the company.
Much is said today about listening to consumers and giving them a voice to adjust products and services in order to better meet their wishes and expectations.
I’ll go even further and say that you need to listen to the voice of customers as well as the internal employees of the business.
Encourage the leaders of each department in your organisation to create brainstorming moments to hear what each employee has to say.
Good ideas come from places you can’t imagine
The interesting thing about giving voice to all employees is that good ideas come from where you least imagine. Do you know why?
Because often leaders are not consumers of your product. They don’t know exactly what can be improved and the impact it will have.
So as much as they do studies, they trace the customer journey, they are not the ones who really feel the difficulties in consumption.
On the other hand, when you open up to a brainstorming process internally it is easier to find people who frequently consume your product within the company.
Also, someone who sees the problem from a different angle may have an idea that nobody had thought of before.
So, remember that if you want to have a successful business, all voices need to be heard. Do you like it? Then share it with your friends on your social networks.
