Finding out what they really want

There is one sure fire way of finding out what your customers are looking for – ask them.

They can tell you if your products/services are providing what they’re looking for, whether your customer service is hitting the mark and how they would prefer to interact with you (email, social media, telephone etc.)

So what’s the most effective way of conducting your research? Here are a few ideas you could try.

1. Ask them directly

Talking to your customers – scary thought but quite effective.

Whether it’s face to face, on the phone or using social media ask them if they were happy with your service. Have they enjoyed using your product? Do they think it could be improved in any way?

You’ll come across as a company that cares about its customers. In fact they’ll probably be so flattered you asked them they’ll be happy to tell you what they think along with any suggestions they may have to improve and strengthen your business.

2. In your newsletter

If you already send out a regular newsletter why not run an opinion poll? You could offer a discount to anyone who fills in your survey or even make it into a prize draw.

This would also be a great opportunity to survey your customers about their social media habits to find out where they hang out so you can discover which channels will work best for you.

3. Case studies

People love real life stories which is why case studies are so powerful.

How can it help with your customer research? Well by asking the right questions such as:

• What problem did they have?
• Why did they approach your company?
• What they thought about your service?
• Whether your product/service solved their problem

You’ll find out loads of valuable information. It’s important though to make sure it’s not written as a thinly masked advert so you may want to find yourself a good professional copywriter to write it for you.

So that’s customer research and a great promotional tool all rolled into one.

4. Humble feedback

So obvious it usually gets forgotten about.

Whether you make or miss a sale find why they did/didn’t buy from you and how they found you in the first place.

People won’t mind you asking because, as I mentioned earlier, it shows you as a company who cares and who wants to continue to improve

Over to you

How do you conduct your customer research?

Do you use any unusual or innovative approaches?

Leave a comment below and share your ideas and tips.

Yes, I know – if you could answer that, marketing your business would be a doddle. You’d be able to second guess precisely what they want, provide it for them and keep them happy forever.

That’s a nice dream but it will never be a reality.

The dilemma is that your products and services have to fit the needs of your customers – if they don’t, they won’t sell.

One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is to believe that their customers want what they want.

Let’s think about that for a second. I enjoy going to the gym, watching F1 and going out to dinner. So does that mean all my clients and indeed my friends like those things too? Probably not.

Your customers aren’t like you

However you market your business – through social media, website, brochures, networking etc. – if you base your activities on your beliefs rather than what your customers want, you could be in trouble.

To make your business a success you have to do some serious leg work and that means researching your market.

You have to find out:

• What they want
• What they’re willing to pay
• Where they hang out (to find the optimum marketing avenue)

When thinking about your social media marketing strategy research is vital to work out where your customers are and what platform they use the most.

Common marketing mistakes

Let’s start by looking at B2B companies. It is often perceived that their customers don’t ‘hang out’ on social media platforms. Well if you think about, the vast majority of companies are using social media these days so, yes, they are there – you’ve just got to find them.

Do you use Facebook? If you do, when do you update your status? Many companies add stuff during the day but the problem is most fans won’t log in until the evening. So if you want to generate a buzz and get some participation going on your page, you must update when your fans are about.

One more think about using Facebook, if someone ‘likes’ your page that’s not the same as opting in for your marketing emails. If you start bombarding them with unsolicited emails you’re going to lose them as fans very quickly.

Research, research, research  

It doesn’t matter what business you are in – IT, retail, telecoms, copywriting etc., you have to research your market to make sure your products and services match the needs of your target audience.

Don’t use guesswork – ask them or survey them and find out what they really want. Only then will your marketing hit the spot every time.