On a sunny Tuesday morning, some 500 leading commentators, journalists, politicians and academics hunkered over their computer, tablet and smartphone screens for Flanders’ first-ever online book launch – an instant success. On May 12, Ivan de Vadder and Jan Callebaut launched their new book, ‘Het DNA van Vlaanderen. Waar liggen de Vlamingen wakker van?’ (The DNA of Flanders: What do Flemings worry about?)

A fascinating book that reads as an indispensable manual for political parties, but more than anything metaphorically tells the story of a supplier who forgot to listen to his customer. 

THE BOOK AS A METAPHOR

In ‘The DNA of Flanders’ political journalist Ivan De Vadder and market researcher and communication specialist Jan Callebaut paint a picture of a decade in Flemish politics. Based on the results of a large-scale study commissioned by public broadcaster VRT and conducted by market research firm Why5Research three times – in 2009, 2014 and 2019 – the book offers crystal-clear insight into the things that Flemings worry about, the institutions they value and what their ideal society looks like. It illustrates how the average Flemish political supplier devoted insufficient attention to the needs and wishes of these very Flemings. The result? The traditional political parties took a beating in the polls and were forced to give up considerable market share. That is because it was becoming increasingly difficult for them to connect to their only customer, namely Flemings.

These insights produced an interesting discussion between authors Jan Callebaut and Ivan De Vadder; party leaders Connor Rousseau (sp.a) and Bart De Wever (N-VA); and journalists Rik Van Cauwelaert, Isabel Albers (De Tijd), Annelies Beck (VRT) and Liesbeth Van Impe (Het Nieuwsblad) during the online book launch event (in Dutch). A discussion that can also be had at a broader level since the story of Flemish politics is able to serve as a metaphor for the wider business context in which entrepreneurs and companies are operating. Both political parties and businesses are suppliers who exist only because of their customers. And that is precisely why understanding those customers is vital.

We have collected the most important insights from this analysis of a decade in Flemish politics below. They hold valuable lessons for suppliers operating both in a political and business context.

1. Fundamental expectations

“This context influences the solutions, but not the dream,” was Jan Callebaut’s answer to a burning question – asked by one of the journalists on the panel – about the impact of COVID-19 on the insights contained in ‘The DNA of Flanders’. It was yet another observation confirming the fundamental nature of human expectation patterns: what matters is the soul of the individual person with all their desires and fears, and that same individual’s will to build relationships with their environment, which comprises people as well as products, brands, services, structures, governments etc. Every supplier who wishes to have a relevant role in modern society and in the marketplace needs to consequently acquire deep knowledge into these needs and aspirations, and understand both. This is the only way to know what is really on their minds and to avoid becoming estranged from your customers.

These “customer” expectations on the part of Flemings have remained relatively stable over time. But a single customer and single expectation pattern does not exist. Quite the contrary, in this society, you find different customer archetypes who all have their own expectations and ideals. These groupings, which are united by their similar needs and wants, constitute different target audiences who each have their own questions. We moreover need to be aware of the diversity that characterises society as a whole. Young people for instance have other expectations than older generations, while urban residents have other ideals than people who live in rural areas – to give just a few examples.

>> To be able to offer your customers added value, you need to first fundamentally understand them. Only then can you build credible and relevant connections between your brand/offer and potential customers.

The multitude of data we have at our fingertips in today’s digitalised world can be both a curse and a blessing in this respect: as entrepreneurs, it can give us the false impression that we know our customers inside out. We too often have a blind focus on numbers that confirm the things we want to see confirmed, instead of gaining real, fundamental insights into the expectation patterns at play. Collecting data is one thing; correctly interpreting and understanding them is a different thing altogether. This is also true of politics: Flemish political parties that only pay attention to opinion polls and popularity ratings are only seeing a part of reality, namely the power relations at play. They are missing what’s really going on in society.

>> The wide availability of data can give a false sense of security. But hanging on to “the literal” is not a solution. Insight is the crucial starting point to using the available context to the greatest extent possible.

2. Building bridges

From listener to bridge-builder. Once you understand the fundamental needs of your customer, you can begin translating them. As a supplier, you look for the path of least resistance: people who can naturally connect to you as a supplier are the easiest to convince. In other words, you try to build a bridge between the expectation patterns of your (potential) customers and what you have to offer. These two realities should connect to one another: where do the ideals and dreams of customers, and the expertise and competencies of the supplier match? All too often navel-gazing produces blindness, the result being ambitious inside-out propositions that no longer even come close to the fundamental needs of customers. Or, a communication deficit develops, with insufficient explanation given as to what is in fact being offered and why this is relevant. Promises are made, but no answers are given. Again, the metaphor of Flemish politics applies – much like the traditional Flemish political parties are today struggling to connect to Flemings; as suppliers, you can effectively lose sight of your connection to your customers. Because you no longer know what is preoccupying them and because the distance between offer and demand has become too big. So-called “utopian parties” like the Greens, PVDA and Vlaams Belang have understood what is on Flemings’ minds: they offer up a dream, an ideal vision, that speaks to one of the subgroups in Flemish society, and they consequently have snatched a chunk of the votes in recent years.

>> The distance between question and demand must be bridged in bite-sized, small steps in the first place. A dream or desire that seems achievable and tangible provides the needed energy to be able to effectively enter the buying process.

3. Not a product, but a solution

Customers are no longer looking for a tangible product or service. The individual is looking for an answer to a need, a solution to a problem. This means that suppliers need to have the courage to call themselves into question: Who are we and is what we are offering even still relevant? Also, how can we reinvent ourselves? And we’re not thinking of, say, a new packaging, a different flavour or a name change here …, but a redefinition of your value creation for the customer instead. Or, how do you create value for consumers as a supplier? Inspiration for this can be found in the transition from a ‘product’ mindset to a service-logic mindset, an approach that envisions a shared process of value creation based on integrated solutions (combined products and services) that are realised through co-creation and collaboration between supplier, receiver and various partners. In short, the value is no longer contained in product sales (after which the user destroys that very value by using the product), but is created in the use by the supplier and the customer together.

In this sense, appointing a new chair cannot be a solution to lure back the electorate of a political party. The relevance of the individuals and, especially, refocusing the offer and keeping it relevant by addressing the real needs of Flemings – that’s what’s important. Political parties need to provide added value based on what their (potential) customers are really looking for and define their themes, style of politics and connections to citizens accordingly.

>> The real solution is contained in the answer to the question: “How do I truly offer my customer added value, so that I myself also feel and believe it?”

4. Substance and honesty

Hollow catchlines and clichéd communication slogans do not work and will never work either.

That should not be a surprise since they do not tell a meaningful story and moreover lack credibility. A meaningful story that matches the expectations of your customer, that shows that you understand your customer and that you are seeking solutions together with him/her, is the foundation for everything else. A relevant, layered story that can be discovered by the customer, time and time again. No one-off slogans but on-going, open dialogues through modern means of communication that invite customers to engage in the value creation process. As a supplier, this means seeking out new fault lines, offering innovative solutions, broaching fresh themes and also enhancing your communicative skills.

Here, too, the political landscape can serve as inspiration: the winners will be those who – rather than insisting on a single-issue offer – advance a rich solution for the different dreams and who are unafraid to engage in an honest, open dialogue about this solution. That is what Flemings see as relevant and credible.

>> Your customer deserves a rich story and an open dialogue. Ask yourself how honest you are being with your customers as a supplier.

5. Trustworthiness

A mere utopia, however, does not seem to suffice. As a supplier, you can offer the most rich and honest story you want; you won’t get anywhere without decisiveness and trustworthiness. To render this into a mathematical formula – (authenticity + vulnerability) x credibility is as it were the golden formula for trustworthiness. The essential trustworthiness factor required to be considered by your customers lies in the combination of the achievement and the sharing of meaningful, layered stories with truth-telling – no matter how difficult – multiplied with your unique expertise as a supplier.

This type of trustworthiness is precisely what the traditional Flemish parties have lost in recent years due to a lack of authenticity and vulnerability. The Greens, Vlaams Belang and PVDA – or the so-called “utopian” parties – have demonstrated authenticity and vulnerability thanks to the relevance of their message and the courage they showed to engage in the dialogue, but they lack credibility. Flemings do not believe that they have the power to effectively achieve their dreams. The only party left, then, is N-VA, which has gone from nothing to becoming the strongest party over the last 10 years: they had all the ingredients for the trustworthiness recipe in their hands and they consequently fully reaped the benefits of this. They were the only party seen as a decisive political party by Flemings in 2019. The question is to what extent their recent moves – which include letting the government fall over the Marrakesh agreement, as well as the current, on-going negotiations to form a new government – have undermined their responsible image.

>> The formula that every supplier must solve: (authenticity + vulnerability) x trustworthiness= customer confidence.

6. Coalitions

As Alex Bogusky already said: “Collaboration is the new competition.” To be able to build a meaningful and relevant story, as suppliers you have to focus on coalitions. In doing so, you must look for complementarity when it comes to the fundamental expectations of your (potential) customers, so as to together create ultimate value with other partners. This of course calls for an open attitude, one that allows you to look beyond walls: to look beyond teams, to look beyond the bounds of companies and even sectors. This also calls for a new style of collaboration, forcing you to let go of the mechanisms you are accustomed to. The result is all the more valuable: an ecosystem of knowledge-exchanging partners who together offer a valuable proposition.

As ‘The DNA of Flanders’ demonstrates, an imagined coalition between N-VA and the Greens could dominate the Flemish political landscape for years to come – with N-VA bringing the decisiveness and trust to the table to solve economic and social problems, and with the Greens as the only party that truly takes the climate concerns of Flemings seriously. When based on insights into the wishes of Flemings, the interaction between the right story and powerful decisiveness constitutes the ultimate political value proposition.

>> Give collaboration around and co-branding of fundamental solutions a real chance.

The story of ‘The DNA of Flanders’ shows that the challenges facing the Flemish political landscape in 2020 are not that different from those facing the business marketplace: the more you can make your offer respond to the demand, the more satisfied your customer will be with you as a supplier. This is as true for the policies pursued by a Flemish political party and its figureheads, as it is for a company’s business proposition. The world of politics and the world of business need to know their ‘consumers’ inside out and get to know them over and over again – a person’s needs can evolve over time – and be prepared to engage in a dialogue with them at any moment. Having the right information as your foundation to understand what really matters to customers is key in all this. That is the only way to arrive at a meaningful, nuanced and relevant offer.