Your business thrives and leads the competition because your customers continued patronage of your products and services. Through your offerings and marketing message, you also get to build a harmonious relationship with them.
You must know your customers on a personal level. Otherwise, your relationship with them will only become transactional. Knowing them will eventually allow you to create personalized messaging and tailor experiences. Ultimately, this will allow you to build credibility.
But how do you exactly get to know your customers? There are specific approaches, and each of them will depend on your business goals. However, there are basic principles that will serve as your foundations.
Here are some of the pointers to remember if you want to become much closer to them:
Use your social media assets
One of the conveniences that marketers and business people can enjoy these days is social media presence. Almost everyone is online, using different platforms and social media websites. By simply visiting these places, you will see the conversations your target audiences are engaging in. Platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, can give you insights into the likes and interests of your customers. You can also use hashtags to track the topics that your customers are interested in.
Conduct customer-based surveys
Using social media insights and analytics-based data is just scratching off the surface. If you want to get to know your customers in-depth, you need to conduct consumer surveys. You can get honest feedback and comments regarding your products and services. The data you will gather can be used for the improvement of your business. You can conduct online and on-the-ground surveys depending on your budget and time. Nevertheless, companies such as Alchemer can provide you with the tools necessary for this undertaking.
Invite them to your events
If you want to build strong ties with your suppliers and potential customers, joining trade events and industry shows is a good idea. There, you can thoroughly explain your products and services to people who are willing to listen. However, if you have an ample budget to hold a separate event just for your brand, then do so! You can either start a brand activation effort, such as product trials or mini concerts. Take these events as opportunities to talk to your customers and get to know them better.
Create customer personas
When you already have the data you need, you can create customer profiles or personas. You will use these files as a reference whenever you are quite confused about how you’re going to communicate your message to your target market. You can name your customer personas so you will have this feeling that you are talking to them.
Refine your existing methods
Naturally, you already have your existing methods when it comes to getting to know your customers. However, you might want to get rid of the parts that don’t work anymore. You can always refine your methods to streamline your information-gathering flow. If you need more guidance, you can seek the help of an expert.
