What to Ask: How to Learn What Customers Need but Don't Tell You

Does capturing customer feedback feel like a pointless exercise?

No matter the number of surveys, interviews, or studies conducted, we regularly fail to uncover those gems needed to make our organization stand out. It's no surprise given that "expert" guidance states the obvious, like "Ask open-ended questions," "Identify patterns," or "Extract insights." What's needed is a way to discover what we're missing.

Traditional customer feedback methods ignore two essential sources of insight: context and behavior. These reveal the why behind the what, eliminating the ambiguity of open-ended customer feedback—and this requires a different approach.

In What to Ask, author Andrea Belk Olson, CEO of applied behavioral science consulting firm Pragmadik, and head of the University of Iowa JPEC startup incubator, delivers a unique, cognitive method for discovering hidden customer needs, converting them quickly into differentiators, and avoiding the pitfalls of traditional research.

Olson also details how individuals and organizations can better tune into customer needs by sharpening their strategic focus, cultivating customer-focused behaviors, and challenging cognitive biases.

About the Author

Andrea Olson is a strategist, speaker, author, and customer-centricity expert. As the CEO at Pragmadik, she helps organizations of all sizes, from small businesses to Fortune 500, and has served as an outside consultant for EY and McKinsey. Andrea is the author of The Customer Mission: Why It’s Time to Cut the $*&% and Get Back to the Business of Understanding Customers and No Disruptions: The New Future for Mid-Market Manufacturing. She is a 4-time ADDY® award winner and host of the popular Customer Mission podcast. Andrea is also a contributing author for Entrepreneur Magazine, The Financial Brand, Chief Executive Magazine, and Customer Experience Magazine.

A sought-after keynote speaker at conferences and corporate events, Andrea is a visiting lecturer at the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business and head of their Startup Business Incubator (JPEC Founders Club), a TEDx presenter, and a TEDx speaker coach. She is also a mentor at the University of Iowa Venture School. Andrea lives with her husband in Davenport, Iowa. More information about Andrea can be found at thecustomermission.com.