02.04.06 Customers' Likes and Dislikes Should Not Be a Guessing Game. Do Your Homework, Get the Facts! (Orig Ng 15)

15. Parental Love and ‘Mistaken Preferences’

Zabeti maneuvered her car through the streets, striving to look for parking.  For an early Saturday morning, such overcrowding was usual, as many discerning shoppers chose to wake up early, so as to beat the unforgiving weekend traffic.  Fortunately, she did not have to search for long before a security guard ushered her into an open parking space.

Unlike the ritual shopping sprees ingrained in her family, Zabeti had decided to leave the children at home that Saturday; since she was on a secret mission… finding birthday gifts for her son Musa, and her daughter Basuseba.

The mother had planned that since Basuseba’s birthday was the following month, she would identify an appropriate gift and pick it some other time.  However, Musa’s birthday was the following day.  Therefore the son’s gift had to be bought that morning.

“Musa really needs some cheering up”, Zabeti thought reflectively.  Being a sensitive son, his unexpectedly poor ‘form six’ results had left the boy so shattered that he had almost slipped into depression.  The mother could recall the times when she had counseled Musa for hours, assuring him that poor ‘academic performance’ was not the end of life. 

These talks had brought Zabeti much closer to her son.  It was during such conversations that she had discovered that Musa had a deep love for music.  In fact, the boy was part of the school band.  “Undoubtedly, a guitar will be appropriate”, she thought as she headed straight for the music store. 

Soon after paying for the musical instrument, Zabeti proceeded with the more challenging task of hunting for a suitable gift for her nine-year old daughter Basuseba. 

Finding the gift was not that easy.  Unlike her siblings, Basuseba was quite reserved; and admittedly, it was not easy to know what things would please her.  “It would have to be some kind of toy, but which one?” she wondered as she strolled through the alleys of a well-stocked toy shop.  After a long and tireless ‘pick this toy up… put it back…, then pick another one’, Zabeti finally settled for a teddy bear.  “I will come for it next week”, she assured the shop attendant.

The following day was busy with arrangements for Musa’s birthday party.  And, all Zabeti’s efforts were rewarded with the glowing surprise that Musa showed on his face as soon as he unwrapped his gift. “Wow..!” he exclaimed, quickly tuning the guitar and trying out a few songs.  Needless to say, the boy had got something to drown some of his sorrows.

The weeks that followed were busy for Zabeti, and she was unable to pick the teddy bear as planned.  In fact, a few days before Basuseba’s birthday, Zabeti was given an urgent trip to go upcountry and was due to return on the very day that Basuseba’s birthday party would be held.  So the mother requested her best friend Nora to pick the teddy bear and put all the other party arrangements in place.  Fortunately, Nora did all the needful, and by the time Zabeti got home, everything was set.

However, during the days that followed, Zabeti noted that Basuseba never displayed the new teddy bear amongst the other fluffy toys that adorned her bed.  To the contrary, the teddy remained neatly tucked away in the girl’s wardrobe. 

Some few months thereafter, Zabeti landed on Basuseba’s secret diary.  And, the mother was shocked to read what her daughter had inscribed on the page bearing her birthday date: “Mummy bought Musa’s gift herself, but when it came to my birthday, she sent someone else to buy my gift …. I WONDER!!!”

This was when it struck the mother that contrary to what Zabeti had expected, what was most important to her daughter was not just the gift, but who had bought it!

I narrated this story when talking to a group of employees who had been given the task of formulating a product development strategy.  I emphasized the importance of getting close to customers, through surveys and other mechanisms that would assist them to understand the perceptions of customers.

I pointed out that Zabeti was able to please Musa because she had taken time to be close to him, thereby discovering the boy’s love for music.  Likewise, the employees needed to invest time in studying customers, so as to appreciate their (customers) likes and dislikes.  I advised that such an approach would help accommodate customer preferences in the organization’s product offering.

I drew their attention to the fact that Zabeti had thought that the teddy bear would please Basuseba, regardless of who had collected it from the shop.  Yet, for Basuseba, it was not just about the toy.  Apparently, who brought the toy home was also important to the girl.  In fact, Basuseba had assumed that Nora selected the gift on behalf of Zabeti, and that she (Nora) had paid for it!  Thence, I cautioned against the tendency for employees to think that they understand a customer’s expectations, before taking care to study a customer’s perception. 

“You may think that you know all about a customer, but research could prove you wrong”, I warned.  Remember, ‘your meat could be a customer’s poison’.