If you follow me at all you know I am a strong believer that CEOs and CMOs spending time with customers is a key to business success. While I have not proven this to be the case, I have enough anecdotal evidence to believe, and I also continue to share new evidence. This one comes from Vince Camuto, founder of Nine West. In an article in Fortune his one piece of advice is: “Listen to the consumer. I’m out every week in the stores, talking to women and the sales people. What do people want? Where is their lifestyle going? Trends don’t come from designers. They come from consumers.”
Get out of your office and quit believing (hoping) the customer thinks like you.
