Understanding your customers is the first and foremost thing you should do if you are starting a business. They are the fuel required for your business engine to function properly. Only when you know their purchasing mindset, you can launch a product and sell it successfully. The entire process of business from idea to design, marketing strategies to sales pitch should be carried out keeping your customers in mind. A study shows that 1 in 3 people stop buying a particular brand after one bad customer experience. A successful business or brand is one that sells a product or service that addresses the needs of its customers and treats them in the right way.
All these are ok but how? If this is your question, then read on. Here are some tips to help you to understand your customers better:
1. Listen to your customers
Without the customers, there is no business. From the very first interaction till the sales and support afterward, try to listen to your customers patiently. Ask them questions and try to understand their mindset towards your brand in depth. Even if they complain, listen to the pain points that need to be addressed. People expect their problems to be solved and needs to be fulfilled. Only then, they continue to trust your brand. Communicating effectively with your customers gives a lot of business insights like what the customer likes about your product, what they don’t like and how it can be improved, whether they find your product affordable or not, etc. For example, Lystloc field employee tracking app gives customizable features like location based attendance,task management, meeting notes, fuel reimbursement reports depending on the business domain at affordable pricing.
2. Conduct surveys
Once in a while, conduct surveys to know your customers. Don’t do it for namesake. Instead, take enough time to prepare the questionnaire including meaningful questions. The survey results should add some value to your business strategies. Be it online or offline, try to cover a wider range of people in terms of age, gender and location. Diversity is a crucial factor in surveys. It decides the authenticity and accuracy of the survey results. Once you get the results on your table, draw the analytics based on that. Discuss with your marketing, sales as well as customer support team on how to align the strategies more effectively based on the interests of the people.
3. Social media analytics
Today, numerous small businesses are solely based on social media platforms like Instagram, youtube. They display the products and price details. The customers can be from any part of the world as the purchase process is entirely online. So it is important to know your customers’ thoughts to improve your business further. From launching new products to increasing the sales of current products all depends on the customer’s buying habits. To know that, social media analytics helps you. It gives a 360-degree view of your customer’s buying persona. Leverage the power of data analytics to find answers to all your questions related to customer engagement:
● What does my customer search for?
● What kind of products or services is he/she looking for?
● What is the price range he/she can afford?
● Is he/she still interested in your product?
● How much discount does he/she expect?
4. Watch your competitors
Observing your competitor’s moves closely will give you a clear picture of the customer’s thoughts. Wondering how?
For example, if your competitor company provides a discount of 10% or if it’s an app, let’s say they give 14 days free trial, then the customers also expect the same or something higher from you.
Not only this, but you can also ask a neutral person to compare the products and know the areas which you can improve. Get inputs, build marketing strategies based on that and the results will follow.
5. Customer support
A good customer support team is a big plus for your business. Answering the customer’s doubts and questions with patience and clear explanations is very important. Record all the data to know what are the pain points of the majority of customers and what features need improvement. Maintain a customer needs statement. After a good customer experience, about 69% of the customers recommend the company to others, according to studies. At the same time, one bad experience is enough for the customer to leave your product which certainly means they are moving on to your competitors. To avoid this and to bring down the churn rate of your business, know your customer’s mindset precisely.
6. Past purchase history
Analyzing the past purchase history of your customers gives you a clear picture of their needs. There is a high probability that they will buy something related to their past purchases. Also, if they are not satisfied with the past purchase, they end up buying a similar product from another brand. This way you can identify your potential leads. Avoid assumptions and rely on accurate data. Be it your website or cold emails or social media campaign, mention how your brand addresses your customer problems and end it with a clear call-to-action (CTA).
Summing up
No one remembers the brand, but they remember their experience with the brand. Hence, put enough time and effort to know your customer’s thoughts and build your brand accordingly. A brand that closely replicates people’s thought processes surely wins. A combination of direct inputs like customer reviews, feedback, survey reports, etc, and indirect inputs like social media analytics, tracking customer behavior, and purchase patterns is required to capture your customers’ mindset. Hence, implement the above mentioned tips in your business to see visible results in your company’s revenue graph.
