“I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.“  Wayne Gretzky

I have been using this phrase a lot with clients lately (as a result of a colleague using it in a pitch).  With the economy in turmoil, it is important to look into the future and figure out where you need to skate to get to the puck.

Referencing my simple B2B philosophy, point number two is “Meet your customers wherever they are at”.  I should probably add to that and say “Wherever they are going to be”.  Once you understand your customers, how they buy, why they buy, what their perceived needs are, and who is meeting those needs, you can then start asking where are my customers at?  Once you know where your customers are at and where they are going, you can put a plan in place to go out and meet them.  Meeting them is action and requires you and your organization to mobilize and invite them into a relevant dialogue with your organization.

In my own conversations lately, I keep asking the question of where are your customers and where are they going?  It’s a basic question, but the answers are critical to determining what we are actually going to do online.

Related posts:

1. A practical example of creating a relevant dialogue