Even if you use the product or service you sell, that doesn't mean you know what it's like to be a customer. The reason, argues Rohit Bhargava in a post at the Influential Marketing Blog, is that most business owners or execs don't go through the buying process.

He uses the example of General Motors executives who drive company cars. "They didn't research the car online," he says. "They didn't shop around and talk to several dealers about it. They didn't have to trade off something else in their budget to afford the car and figure out how to finance it."

Furthermore, they don't have to worry about day-to-day ownership issues such as paying for maintenance or gas.

In other words, our hypothetical executive might know what it's like to use a Cadillac, but he might not know what it's like to buy and own a Cadillac. And that is why Bhargava advises businesses to:

• Research your product or service online, just as your prospect would.
• Go into a retail store and discuss the pros and cons with a salesperson.
• Place an order online to see how soon it arrives, how the packaging looks and whether anyone from your company follows up.

The Po!nt: "You need to experience the entire process around buying it to really understand your customers," says Bhargava.

Source: Influential Marketing Blog. Click here for the full post.

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