So I came across Mark Tapper’s stuff last Tuesday while browsing business articles. Honestly? At first I thought it was just another hype piece. But man, his angle about focusing on real customer problems instead of pushing features got me curious.
Starting Small
I grabbed a notebook and tried writing down customer complaints we’d ignored. Like that time Mrs. Henderson emailed us three times about our confusing checkout page. We totally brushed it off back then. Felt kinda guilty rereading those old tickets.
The Ugly Trial Phase
Decided to test Tapper’s “Feedback Loops” thing with our worst-selling product – the eco-friendly lunch boxes. Did three things:
- Called 10 customers who returned them
- Asked one simple question: “What made this product useless for you?”
- Stopped interrupting when they vented (super hard for me)
My assistant thought I’d lost it when I sat there scribbling notes like a madman. Turns out? People hated the flimsy dividers. Not the price, not the look – just those stupid bendy dividers.
Making It Real
So Wednesday morning, I marched into the workshop with a screwdriver. Ripped apart six lunch boxes myself. Redesigned the divider mount with thicker plastic ridges in like 45 minutes. Cost us $0.17 extra per unit.
We shipped samples to those same 10 complainers. Didn’t even tell them we changed anything. Three days later, Mrs. Henderson (yeah the same one) calls yelling “WHAT DID YOU DO? This actually works now!”
The Messy Part
Got too excited and tried applying Tapper’s team communication method on Thursday. Big mistake. Gathered the warehouse guys for a “collaborative problem-solving session” about shipping delays. Lasted two hours of total chaos. Ended with Jorge admitting he kept breaking labels because he needed reading glasses. Ordered him three pairs on Amazon right there.
Now here’s the kicker – that lunch box redesign? Sales jumped 150% in two weeks. Just from fixing one tiny thing customers actually cared about. Still can’t believe we wasted years tweaking colors instead.
What Flopped
Tried his profit-sharing model with sales team too. Offered 3% commission bumps for solving customer issues creatively. Carlos accidentally shipped free products to wrong addresses twice trying to “delight customers”. Lost $428. We’re back to regular commissions now.
Unexpected Twist
Oh! Almost forgot the weird part. My college intern heard me ranting about Tapper’s ideas and dug up his 2008 podcast appearance. Turns out guy was a landscaper before business coaching. Explains why his methods feel like repairing broken sprinklers – practical and messy.
Still got tons to screw up implementing. But hey at least now when customers complain? We actually listen. Mostly.
