Myriad learns by listening
Ray Allegrezza, Editor in Chief -- Furniture Today, April 18, 2005
Carolyn Crowley and Russ Higgins are very smart people. Smart people do things like launch a software company. Very smart people figure out ways to continuously enhance that company year after year.
In July, Carolyn and Russ will begin their 16th year at the helm of retail software systems supplier Myriad. For the past 11 of those years, they've done something that has been, in my opinion, a cornerstone of Myriad's growth.
I'm speaking of their users' conference. As with most conferences, attendees get to hear a motivational speaker, attend workshops and seminars, and have a little fun as well. This year in New Orleans, golf and a river cruise were available.
But the folks at Myriad do something more critical: They listen to their customers. During the conference, a number of sessions are essentially open-mike, best-practices forums that encourage attendees to share what works and what doesn't in areas such as advertising, in-store promotions, transportation, logistics, customer service or whatever else is on the group's mind.
In another workshop, appropriately called Enhancement Requests, Myriad's customers are given a platform to tell the company what features and benefits they would like to see added to the software. Here's where the listening comes in. As part of the dialog, Carolyn and Russ report on enhancements made during the year — enhancements that were suggested by users at the prior year's event.
Imagine if our industry paid that much attention to its customer, the consumer. What if we really listened to what she tells us she wants? Even better, what if our customer focus was such that we not only acted upon those wishes, but also found a way to communicate to her that we had taken steps to make her wish a reality?
That, my friends, could open up a myriad of opportunities!
