Growing up in the Southwest, I heard that expression a lot when I was growing up. As a youngster, I assumed it to be some cowhand saw. It's origins are far less humble, in fact; it's from St. Jerome's commentary (400AD) on the Apostle Paul's Letter to the Ephesians. In Latin, the proverb is “Noli equi dentes inspicere donati” (never inspect the teeth of a given horse). As one looks at a horse's teeth to assess its age and health - - its worth, the saying instructs us to be grateful for a gift and not be too quick to judge its value or merits.
CUSTOMER FEEDBACK IS A "GIFT HORSE" - - GREAT ORGANIZATIONS TREASURE IT
This post was triggered by something I read recently. The author had an idea for a new product - - really another "flavor", if you will, of an existing product - - from a major sporting goods manufacturer. He he wrote the company's sales and marketing department, describing the idea, and then he shared the communication with his readers. One of the author's smart readers, added in the comments, "I'd buy that!" but then lamented, "Don't expect much, as these shots in the dark usually miss. It might land if you had a middle manager who would champion it".
This is sad, right? Here's someone spending his own time to share a good idea, the gift horse, telling his readership about it, and expecting that nothing will come of it. I've done this myself - - a few years ago, the very same thing. I wrote a CEO, and, after hearing nothing for years, I got a thank you email.
Customer feedback takes many forms. It comes in infinite varieties: positive and negative, written and verbal, specific and general - - and, one hopes, timely and helpful. Here, I'd like to dig more deeply into the new product suggestion type, as it's a special animal.
A few questions come to mind. First, how can you, a consumer, write a better request? Second, what do these requests really represent? Third, what does the response, if any, say about the company and its leadership? Finally, how can an organizations turn these requests into a good thing - - a diamond mine?
ASK WITH A PASSION
When I was a First Year student at HBS, we were asked to write a CEO letter; I believe it was in Marketing. The assignment was to pay attention, during the semester, to bad customer experiences. Picking out a particularly egregious one, we wrote about it in a letter to the Chief Executive Office of the company involved. Naturally, we told the CEO who were were and that it was a class assignment at HBS; further, we told the CEO, specifically, what we thought the company could do better, AND, perhaps most importantly, we asked for a personal "cure" - - in my case, I believe it was a horrible car rental, so I asked for a free rental.
While I don't have the data, I promise you 95 percent or more of those letters got answered, and usually got cured. But, what if you don't want to complain, what if you want a company to make something you can buy?
Ahem, so, let me pull something out of thin air … stream of consciousness. Let's say I have this bright idea for a flashlight maker, that they should offer their super-duper tactical hunting flashlight in pink. I'd write the CEO, I would tell him exactly who I am and why he should listen to me. I'd tell him specifically why they should make in pink: it supports Breast Cancer Awareness MONTH; men will give as gifts; pink is tacti-cool; it will find its way into car glove boxes … and on and on. This is a no-brainer. For extra credit, I'd might drop the news item about the recent "Stanley Cup Craze" [In four years, sales grew TEN-FOLD, $73 TO $750 million, 2019-23]. Lastly, I'd ask for something concrete, something they can give me now, to get some "skin in the game" - - "While I'm waiting for the pink light to hit the market, can you give me five of (your best-selling current model) flashlights to use as Christmas stocking stuffers?"
I don't think this email, this letter, dies. I think it gets read by the CEO's assistant (who screens emails) and gets forwarded to the head of marketing with a number of cc's, including a cc to the head of customer service with a note "p.s. Could you send a complementary flashlight?". Another thought: While the CEO's email address might be difficult to come by, for the cost of a postage stamp, a physical letter will typically penetrate even the most labyrinthine organizations.
Send it on its way, and let it go. And, it might result in nothing. And, that is okay, as it was a gift, of love.
CUSTOMER NEW PRODUCT REQUESTS ARE LOVE LETTERS
There is not a more clear expression of love for a brand or an organization. It is like someone looking you in the eyes and saying, "I love you, have more children! Make more of you!" The writer is telling you they want to give you money, more sales, more success. If the product comes to market, they're certain to buy it - - they'll even tell others to buy it. In a previous post, "Learn to Love Your Flokis", you meet someone special, Floki. Is the letter writer a Floki, someone who can "feel the tree", someone who is sensing a market opportunity you can't yet see?
I'd argue that special attention needs to be paid to these letter writers. They are often the ones who tell you about a product use or market that is adjacent to your market, one that you and your organization cannot sense, as it is alien to you. An outstanding example of this - - I'll cover more deeply in a future post - - is MicroPlane, a tool that started in the garage as a woodworking tool, went into the kitchen as a zester, and then made its way into the surgery operating theater as a bone saw! These types of ideas are often even more valuable than line extension ideas. In MicroPlane's case, the medical device idea spawned a new division, rivaling the other two businesses in size.
Have you ever suggested a new product or service? How did it turn out? Tell us in the comments.
GREAT ORGANIZATIONS WELCOME THESE GIFT HORSES
You know from my earlier posts how fond I am of my time at Toyota. We were known for our exceptional process management, the Toyota Production System. What might not be obvious however, is that it was that excellence in process management that freed management, and especially the most senior management, to pay close attention to little anomalies, things that were unusual and unexpected. Imagine daydreaming on a park bench, and a butterfly lands in your hands.
In high-achieving organizations, these should not be seen as troubles: These are gifts, opportunities for transformation. In Toyota's case, that worker who shortcuts an assembly process in some awkward way - - while producing a timely and equal-quality result - - is worth study, not derision. What else can we learn from that? Can others learn to do it that way? [I mention Toyota in a previous post, "Golden Flops and Waves".]
Likewise, it is often the case that these new product requests come from an individual using the company's current product in an unorthodox, or "wrong" way! In MicroPlane's case, mentioned above, men were bringing their wood rasp into the kitchen to zest an orange! THE HORROR!
Another thing is generally true about these product "Flokis", these people using your product the "wrong" way: They have tribes, they have nests! They are often hanging out somewhere, in person and online, sharing their "misuse" ideas with others, perfecting their "misuse". A great example of this is "IKEA Hacks" - - people who "misuse" some IKEA item in a way that better suits their need. I just typed that term into a search engine - - I get more than a half million hits! It is an entire subculture, one that wise people and organizations treasure. Remember my pink flashlight idea above? There are hundreds of flashlight fan websites where all the light Flokis share their hacks, habits - - and product wish lists.
Great organizations and great leaders see these product Flokis and their sub communities as a vital part of their extended family. Harness their enthusiasm for mutual gain: Communicate with them, make a place for them, nurture them. This requires processes.
CREATE A PROCESS FOR GIFT HORSES
Let's go back to the first story I told, that of the author suggesting a new product flavor, the line extension idea. What might happen? Let's follow that email. First, I hope it gets past the generic inboxes to which he wrote.
Thinking conceptually, we need to acknowledge a number of the things the company might know that the sender doesn't: The company might already know the idea, for instance, or the company might have very different priorities right now. It could be a number of things.
But none of this really matters for my first recommendation.
Promptly reply to and thank the sender. This might be a canned response, and that's okay. It's important that the sender know that the company has received the idea, is thankful for it, and will have the appropriate decision makers look at it further. It gives instant gratification to that customer, the one that loves your company. Boom. Done.
I'm tempted, by my nice side, to tell that you should do more, like give a gift coupon, but don't. You want to be open to gift horses, not advertise for people to drop them off! That is, if you inorganically stimulate to much idea inflow, it will tax your internal resources and likely attract lower-quality ideas. It might even attract fake Flokis - - people who'll abuse the process for the coupon or reward.
Incidentally, this is the same issue one sees with the classic, "Suggestion Box", left unattended, in an infrequently-visited hallway at your workplace or business. It's unlikely to be helpful: It's more likely to attract gum wrappers or inappropriate comments. Analogously, an easy-to-find email on your website, newideas@companynameDOTcom makes it too easy, too low-investment for the suggester - - you'll get too many communications and most will be of very low quality. You do want the suggester to do some work, like searching for an appropriate company contact. I've strolled over to the company press release section and pulled names out of those. Remember, above, I suggested a physical letter? These do make it do the CEO's desk and they should be read - - in today's digital world, they epitomize exactly the type and method of input a company should solicit: A letter represents just the right level of invested effort from the new idea Floki!
Is your organization suggesting the right level of input, in a constructive manner? Share your ideas in the comments.
Throw out the gum wrappers. This housekeeping task can be done by junior staff. The sender already got the canned response above. These go in the trash, digital or physical, and it is "emptied" as you see fit.
Hopefully there aren't a lot of wrappers; This metric, incidentally, should be noted, a gum-wrapper-to-gold-ore ratio, if you will. Too much and you are too "open", too little, you are too "closed", see 1., above. This is exactly the type of item that should come up at a company offsite. More on this below.
Make an initial, quick assessment. This task can be also done by a junior person, but there is a dual nature to this task, so it is important that the right person does it. One aspect of this is pretty mechanical, and here is where some of the company's private information is useful, that is those things the company knows but the sender doesn't. Some simple vetting criteria might include such things as: new market vs. line extension, known idea vs. novel, process improvement vs. new product idea, and so on.
Think about my pink flashlight for a moment: Don't you think it's pretty obvious, perhaps, to the company? Isn't it likely they already have had that idea? Probably. But take one more look, and look for the other nature of these requests. Is there anything unusual about the request or the requestor? What if, say, MicroPlane, who was selling fine woodworking rasps, noticed they were getting strange requests from … chefs … or surgeons? Herein lies, gold, methinks. Take note of unusual patterns.
This might be the stage where the company puts some skin in the game, just as the suggester did. Go back to my first few paragraphs: Note how I had an "ask" in my HBS email - - give me a car rental, and I had an ask in my pink flashlight idea - - the stocking stuffers. The cost of the replacement rental car, the stocking stuffer flashlight, is immaterial to the company! It is a sign of organizational quality, and ultimately of leadership quality, that the organization can meet the ask. It shows a sign that the leadership has the mindset to and does, in fact, see the "butterfly".
Here's a simple idea to stir your imagination. Motel-style key rings can be imprinted with your logo and individually-numbered, inexpensively, for a couple bucks a piece. Print a series of 500. Send a key ring to the idea originator, with a nice note, "We've logged your idea, number 372. We love it! Our team will discuss it further, and we'll keep you posted if it moves forward." Wanna bet that "idea Floki" uses that key ring? Tells his friends? Let that number and person track with the idea; if it does comes to pass, make something out of, even invite that key-holder to the product launch. Heck, those key rings would become their own thing, rare collectables!
Add these ideas to the product development or process improvement discovery process. It is very important that these don't get "siloed" at this point, that is get directed to a single department or person. For, there, they often go and die.
Instead, I'd recommend the best of these come up at a periodic, cross-functional discussion. This could be a fun, wide open discussion at a company offsite, for instance. Keep it open aire, like a good brainstorming session. Here, we're looking for champions. Were I running this session, I'd be looking for champion candidates at all levels, volunteers. It might be a junior person willing to do some groundwork, some initial research; a more senior person might volunteer to check in on the progress. They might even be from different departments - - this, in fact is ideal, as you are getting a more broad set of internal stakeholders involved, at an early stage. Oh, and it has a name, right? Yep, this one, "No. 372".
At a certain stage, incubated ideas should join a company's more formal process for product and process innovation. There is so much more to cover, and I'll cover more in future posts. I'm particularly interested to cover the decisions to make a go with a new idea and how to successfully staff and execute these projects.
For now, remember, the best organizations value the "gift horses" of customer feedback, particularly in regards to new products and processes. Great leadership makes this a part of the culture and symbiotically works with these outside resources.
Do you have other ideas on harnessing the energy of outside fans? How do you do it? Please share in the comments.