May 26, 2024 | Read Online
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Years ago I worked for an HR tech company that was born during the 2008-09 recession.
We offered a SaaS recruiting and onboarding platform for employers with hourly workers, like restaurants, retail, and hospitality.
When the company was founded, the labor market was rough. Many people were searching for jobs, and our software helped employers capture and filter thousands of applicants for every open position. We helped employers cut through the noise and find those diamonds hidden in the rough.
As time went by the economy improved, employment rates rose, and far fewer people were applying for jobs. In fact, labor became so scarce that our human resources customers had to adopt an entirely new mindset.
They became marketers.
Rather than sorting through piles of inbound applications, they had to go outbound and lure employees away from their current jobs.
They needed new tools to pull this off. Talent networks, job board integrations, employer branding websites, and email campaign tools.
But our products weren’t built for that.
We debated about whether to change course given increasing pressure from our customers and the overwhelming evidence that we were falling behind.
Meanwhile, our competitors were on it like white on rice. They quickly released features that met the new market demands.
Within a few months the battle was over. We had lost. And the company ended up selling for pennies on the dollar versus what we raise.
I thought we were customer-centric. And in our day-to-day interactions with customers, we absolutely were.
But perhaps institutionally. Strategically. As a product company we were not.
The lesson here?
Listening is an organizational competency.
It’s part of the company culture.
And it’s critical because customers are a bellwether for where the market is headed.
But listening, alone, isn’t enough.
You must also act on what you hear.
With urgency.
In SaaS, we're not paddling on a serene lake. We're navigating class five rapids. The markets we serve are in constant flux, and there are countless ways to get off course and screw things up.
Listening to customers is one thing, but it’s all for naught if you don’t adjust your product strategy and roadmap based on what you hear.
“We innovate by starting with the customer and working backwards. That becomes the touchstone for how we invent.”
- Jeff Bezos, Amazon
As always, well-said, Jeff.
The mark of company’s customer-centricity is visible in the product innovations it ships.
Are you just listening? Or are you acting on what you hear?
🤘
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