I’m not a big reality TV show fan, but I did enjoy “Undercover Boss” when it came out.

I thought the idea was brilliant.

Take a powerful CEO and bring him in on the front lines of his business. The CEO of White Castle worked “undercover” in one of his fast-food restaurants. Another worked within a warehouse packing boxes. And another one sat next to a group of customer service reps as they handled incoming phone calls.

The reason it was so brilliant was because it usually opened up the eyes of the CEO as he realized that a process was broken. He had no idea because he was so far removed from his company’s deliverables.

This is an area where startups have an advantage. In the beginning days of building their business, they see firsthand what works for their customers and what doesn’t.

Entrepreneurs can tell when their customers are happy. They also know quickly when they’re not. But as a business grows, it becomes more complex. Small businesses grow into medium-sized businesses, which grow into large businesses, which grow into enterprises.

With each growth phase, the business risks getting farther away from understanding what their customer needs.

A good way to avoid that is to keep in touch constantly with your customers by asking questions.

If you have customer service reps, have them ask your customers what they liked about the product or service.

What didn’t they like? What would they change if they could?

The more you ask, the more you’ll know. And then you can use that information in your marketing to reach your buyer with messaging that will make sense and attract their business.

Copywriters ask a lot of questions because we want to understand how much a business owner knows about their buyers. If there’s a gap, we can fill it. One of the things a copywriter does is extensive research on a prospect.

We like to have a buyer persona, if possible. But if one isn’t available, a copywriter will do her best to help you develop  one.

Just today, I talked to a prospect about buyer personas and psychographics. The reason is simple. The more I can understand his target market and his buyer, the more targeted my copy will be.

And targeted copy coupled with a dynamite offer WILL get results.

So get to know your buyer. Experience what they experience. You’ll be wiser because of it and if you work with a copywriter, you’ll have a lot valuable information to share with them so they can do the best job possible on your project.