So take a moment to ask yourself  …

How well do you really know your customers? 

Counter-intuitively, sometimes the more we focus on collecting and analysing customer data, the less we actually know about the people who keep our business in business. We make assumptions based on what customers have done in the past.

But the data can’t tell you what problems customers need solved now … and not all historical data is a clear pointer to future behaviour.

Adding insight to information gives you intuition. And intuition pays dividends.

Intuition is the sum of everything you know about a subject – not merely a gut feel, as so many people think, but all the information you’ve taken in, consciously and unconsciously. It’s customer data, plus personal information, insight and nuance – facial expressions, tone of voice, body language – and a big component of it is empathy.

The fastest way to empathy is to ask ‘why?’ Look at the data and ask why customers behave the way they do. Put yourself in their shoes and ask why they do some things and not others. The first step is always the why.

Customer behaviour is swayed by many external forces. You can’t change that, but if you add insight about the results to your existing data, you can alleviate customers’ external pressures. And the unexpectedness of that offer becomes remarkable. Customers trust you because they know you understand them.

Your ability to put yourself into your customers’ shoes will serve you well. It will ensure you serve them well. And the more of it you do, the better at it you’ll get.

New York Times-bestselling author on the changing world of work, Dan Pink, likens intuition to a symphony – once you bring all the facets of customer knowledge together, you can intuit the way forward.

Steve Jobs was a master of intuition  - his studies of eastern philosophy led him to realise the value of insight over information … and who else but Jobs could have come up with the iPhone – a device that met our future needs before we even realised we had them.

That’s intuition at work. And the outcome is remarkable value – value that is both unexpected and highly relevant.

Sometimes the highest value comes from the simplest acts of remarkability. At other times, remarkability inspires a game-changer à la the iPhone – one that your clients didn’t know they needed until the moment you provided it.

So, do you know your customers well enough to provide value they’ll actually value? If you do, well done. It’s there that your insight into customers’ needs, wants and desires converges with your creative ability to deliver in a whole new way. Now, how can you deliver that value in a way that’s so unexpected it will seem sent from above?

Every business has a unique opportunity to become a leader, simply by delivering immense customer value. Once you begin to provide not just value, but immense, remarkable value, you’re head and shoulders above the crowd and market ownership must follow.

If you’re looking for insights into building amazing businesses and brands, looking to learn from Steve Jobs’ trials, tribulations and successes at Apple and Pixar and looking to apply those insights and learnings in your own business, this really is a book not to be missed.

Here are just a couple of the many highlights that resonated with me:

“You should never start a company with the goal of getting rich. Your goal should be making something you believe in and making a company that will last.”

“Remembering that you’re going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”