Revenue Journal®

The customers I interview for my clients range from engineers to programmers to CPAs to physicians to store owners to sailors to dealers to system integrators to women who buy skincare and makeup to salespeople to marketers to CEOs to...well, you get the picture. Just about everybody.

They always have something interesting to say. In fact, you'd be surprised - shocked, even - if you heard how much your own customers have to say about your product and company.

If you interview people skillfully, it's easy to get them started, and once they get started, they can talk for an hour or two about a product, company, and industry. They can tell you what they like about it, what they wish vendors would do, what else they've tried, and what they thought about those products. They will tell you what was frustrating or convenient about the buying process.

They can tell you how they looked for the product, the questions they had, and the tradeoffs they had to resolve before they spent the money. They can tell you the trends they see in the industry, not just based on their own needs, but by observing what others are doing and buying. They can also tell you what would make the most difference for them.

For example, the women I've been interviewing lately for a cosmetic/skin care company have mentioned that they wish cosmetic companies didn't come up with new colors every year. The cosmetic companies do this because they feel they must, of course - it's driven by competition, and the need to make news. But a woman who has found the "perfect" eyeshadow shade, one that causes even her long-time husband to remark on it, will want to keep buying that shade. The problem is, she won't need that shade again for a year, because that's about how long it will take to use up the compact she's already bought.

When she returns to the website or store to buy that shade again, it simply won't be there. If she doesn't find something similar among the new colors, she'll turn to another manufacturer.

What's really happening here? The cosmetics industry is ignoring the normal usage cycle and making it impossible for the satisfied buyer to buy the same product again. This is especially interesting considering how many baby-boomer women are still buying makeup and skin care (probably more than ever before, as they creep up on their 60's).

The cosmetics industry is forcing loyal customers to look elsewhere for their solutions, and giving up hard-earned revenues in the process. It's a classic example of something we discuss at length in my upcoming book, Roadmap to Revenue. The vendor's needs are different from the buyer's needs. The boss feels the need to be considered "hip" and "leading-edge." The new product people need to keep justifying their existance with new products, and everyone just assumes they have to come up with new approaches to stay in the cosmetics game. Old colors and formulas are always replaced by new ones. Meanwhile, many customers come back to the cosmetic company looking for that special eye shadow or mascara, only to find that it is now gone.

Given that so many women have this problem, why wouldn't cosmetic companies offer a "my favorites" service? In this age of data mining, website registration, and wishlists, it wouldn't be difficult to do. If enough women wanted "Silver Forest" eye shadow to justify stocking it, the company would have found itself a new revenue stream.

Cosmetic companies could experiment with this by asking customers to start making a list of favorites that they would most likely buy again. Customers would then be giving them incredibly useful data. For example, it's one thing to know that a bunch of customers bought a certain product. It is less certain how many of those customers will buy that product again. Having this data would help companies plan ahead.

Cosmetic companies, and other fashion-driven firms, will always have a need to come out with the trendiest color or style. And there will always be women who only want to buy the most recent releases. But there's a large segment of aging baby-boomer women with deep purses who are long past trying to be "hip." Most of them know what makes them look good and want to keep buying those products. There's a gold mine here for the smart companies that decide to take advantage of it.

Your own customers have the same kinds of insights about your products floating around in their heads. They can point you to dozens of viable revenue opportunities.

Most companies never tap into this vast reservoir of revenue. Instead, they guess. What a waste.