Here’s something I haven’t done lately – and I am going to go out on a limb and guess you haven’t done it either: called up five to ten of my clients and asked them to tell me about the challenges they are facing these days. And then listened.

And listened some more.

And ideally, I’d call up five to ten organizations that I would like to have as a client, and another five or ten that I have not been able to win as a client (yes, I confess, it happens!)

This is different from sending out a survey, or conducting a focus group. These tools have their place, but even at their best they tend to be fraught with potential errors and biases.

It’s different from e-mail, though that may have to do in a pinch.

And it’s different, even, from using some of the great social media approaches that are now available for monitoring your brand and “listening” to the Web.

Nothing beats good,� one-on-one, personal conversation for helping us to break down assumptions and put ourselves in the shoes of our customers or members.

That, in my opinion, is where marketing starts: at the place where no assumptions exist.

Jeff Cobb
Hedgehog & Fox

P.S. Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jtcobb

Originally posted @ Hedgehog & Fox