Knowing your customers and their wants is an essential cornerstone of any business. There is that old saying that “the customer is always right”. Whilst this may have been debunked, that does not devalue how important customers are to your business. You will not survive without them. Building a strong relationship with your customers can ensure that they remain engaged with your business and they will push you to succeed. Many businesses feel like they know what customers want but that is not always the case. You need to spend time investigating them. Here are a few tips on where to begin.
Using a Customer Data Platform (CDP)
A CDP is a tool that can help your business get to know your customers better. The customer data platform collates information about your customer from different places such as the websites they visit and the apps they use which can provide insight into their wants and needs. The CDP is a far-reaching tool and will provide a good overview of your customer and their habits. This can help you market directly to them and ensure you know when their tastes are changing before your business takes a significant financial fall.
Social media
There was a day when social media was solely used for relatives and friends. However, in the modern world, social media has become one of the greatest ways to interact with your customer and to market to them. Spend time building your reputation online by showcasing the best of your business and by being available for them to engage with you. Sometimes finding out what they want is as simple as listening to them and asking them the question. The best part is that it is free marketing, especially if you go viral.
Be positive
This may sound silly but being positive when you are communicating with your customers or potential customers, is a great way to help you to get to know them. Being courteous and polite costs you nothing and your customer will be more likely to respond to you if you have displayed a positive attitude. They will also be more likely to seek help from you and thus let you help in their purchasing journey. You can use it as a time to get to know them and then sell them products or services that they want and need.
Surveys
There is not much that can beat a good old-fashioned survey. The important thing here is to make sure to ask the right questions that will actually give you insight. Don’t bother with asking questions without defining useful parameters. Give limited options like, yes or no, or good, neutral, and bad. This will help you to narrow down what your customers want and how they react to things.
Knowing your customers
There is a lot to getting to know your customers, but it is a super valuable skill to have. Spend the time to work out what they want and then give it to them. It cannot get simpler than that.
