How to know your customer better
Your brand’s success depends on your customers. A great marketer wants their brand to be well-known, receive positive feedback from clients, and attract repeat business (and push others to do the same).
Your digital marketing campaigns are going to be as effective as a glass of week-old Coca-Cola from a kid’s party if you don’t put in the effort to get to know your clients. Your brand’s trust will swiftly erode, as will that of your audience, if you don’t connect with customers through individualised messaging and customised experiences.
While this may seem apparent, as marketers we may all use a little reminder now and then that the one-size-fits-all promotional approach of the past is no longer appropriate.
Why should you become familiar with your clients?
It’s simple to get carried away with the creative aspects of content marketing strategies or campaigns to promote your company, ignoring the particular demands, desires, and preferences in the process.
However, customers are the lifeblood of your company, and the only way to engage, inspire, and connect with them in a way that is both relevant and beneficial is by going inside their heads.
This is why…..
- According to Forrester’s “Getting to know your customers” survey, 83% of customers say that receiving good customer service is the most important factor in their purchasing decisions.
- According to the fifth edition of Salesforce’s “State of the Connected Customer,” 73% of customers want businesses to know about their specific requirements and expectations.
- According to Zendesk’s “CX Trends 2022,” 61% of customers would move to another brand after one negative experience.
- According to Bain & Company, increasing client retention rates by only 5% can boost earnings by anywhere between 25% and 95%.
Getting to Know Your Customers: 7 Simple & Useful Tips
After gaining a grasp of the importance of knowing your audience, let’s look at 7 fantastic methods for understanding your customers and using that knowledge to improve campaign results.
1. Apply analysis to all touchpoints
We are awash in data in the modern day. Consumer data and insights are obviously priceless for businesses wanting to gain a thorough understanding of their clientele. But are you utilising your data to its fullest?
Despite the fact that Google Analytics is crucial for maximising the value of your varied demographic insights. It enables you to dive down into additional data sources across touchpoints and provides you with a comprehensive understanding of the routines, tastes, and actions of your customers.
You can create profiles or personas that enhance your marketing communications and aid in calculating the return on investment (ROI) of your social media efforts by combining social media analytics tools and mobile data platforms to gather a wealth of in-depth insights across your key consumer touchpoints.
2. Initiate a discussion and exert influence
Having a discussion with your consumers is one of the easiest and most efficient methods to get to know them.
By going where your customers are, you can learn how they interact with their peers and ask them insightful questions in a natural, non-intrusive manner. Furthermore, if you ask the proper questions, you’ll receive the right responses, which will greatly enhance your brand experience.
There are various ways to interact with your customers where they are most comfortable—and get to know them. These methods range from surveys and polls to social listening. But user-generated content (UGC) is possibly one of the most effective ways to start meaningful consumer conversations and speak your customers’ language (UGC). User-generated content increases authority and trust while giving you a better understanding of what your customers are thinking. That being said, if you want to reach the Gen Z generation, it’s worth your time and money.
This is related to influencer marketing, which is a terrific approach to reach out to active and new communities. According to research from eMarketer, over three-quarters of marketers plan to utilise influencer marketing in 2023, and that number is expected to rise to around 90 percent in 2026.
3. React to both favourable and unfavourable comments. Personally.
It always pays to respond to both positive and negative reviews in a timely, effective manner.
You should continue to be committed to responding personally to customer reviews that are presented in the public eye, regardless of where they are posted. By doing this, you will humanise your brand, demonstrate your dedication to the client experience, and gain additional conversational insights.
Nine out of ten customers, according to Oberlo, look at reviews before choosing a local business, and 59 percent use Google to search and read reviews. Reviews are therefore a crucial component of a trust signal, and giving consistent answers is crucial. By doing this, you will gain access to a lot of new consumer knowledge.
So, whether it’s positive or terrible, give customers time to respond. This can be as basic as saying “thanks for your comments” or offering a fix for their issue or problem.
4. Organise an event or experience
If you use experiential marketing effectively, it can be a really rewarding strategy for getting to know your clients.
Customers today are increasingly demanding and seek experiences as well as individualised content and communications. According to Sprout Social study, there are high expectations for companies because 62 percent of consumers want them to engage with them and 72 percent want them to make a positive contribution to society.
Big-budget companies may provide incredible experiences, as seen with Nike’s latest entry into the metaverse where users could create and sell sneakers. However, there are alternative options for those with smaller finances, such as holding a live event on Facebook or TikTok. LinkedIn now provides a fantastic platform for hosting workshops or seminars for B2B brands.
In order to share your brand value with your customers in a personal way, create a platform before holding a brand event or developing a concrete experience (physical or virtual). Additionally, you will be able to comprehend different audience segments in a way that goes beyond just using digital numbers and metrics.
5. Customise your offers, promotions, and incentives
Returning to the significance of customization: Offering your clients specialised offers and discounts is likely to encourage brand loyalty, which will allow you to get to know them better. These statistics are from McKinsey & Co.
- Consumers expect businesses to provide individualised encounters, according to 71% of consumers.
- When personalisation doesn’t occur, 76 percent of people become frustrated.
- Personalization generates 40% more revenue for businesses with rapid growth than for those with slower growth.
This implies that you cannot approach client engagement in a generalised manner. To ensure that you are targeting the correct audience with the proper content, segment your email lists, review previous interactions, downloads, and purchases, and be careful when making purchases.
6. Launch a mobile loyalty programme
Speaking of developing trust and lasting relationships, establishing a customer loyalty programme will increase consumer retention rates and open up a continuous channel of communication between your company and your target market.
According to the 2022 Loyalty Barometer Report, a brand’s loyalty programme increases a customer’s propensity to purchase by 79%. These programmes now not only keep clients up to date on events or news, but also allow them access to early discounts and exclusive deals.
Successful companies with cutting-edge loyalty programmes include Amazon (paid programme through Amazon Prime), Starbucks (free through Starbucks Rewards), and Sephora (Sephora Beauty Insider using redeemable points). In the process, these companies have gathered a wealth of priceless consumer insights and data.
7. Hold a Contest
Last but not least, we give user-generated content one last quick nod.
By expressing gratitude to your customers, you may foster their loyalty and trust, which will increase their propensity to interact with your business on many touchpoints. Creating a contest that sparks interest and engages your followers and clients might help to increase brand awareness. Consider the “Lid Flip Challenge” at Chipotle.
Simple promotion of Chipolote’s app was the aim. To encourage consumers to make burrito bowls, the company launched the hashtag competition Chipotle Lid Flip Challenge. A phone and a Chipotle burrito bowl were necessary for the challenge, which was introduced by influencer and fan David Dobrik.
The outcome? A record-breaking online sales day resulted from the 111,000 videos that were uploaded in the first six days. More than 300 million people watched the hashtagged videos, which won a Shorty Award.
Consider a challenge or competition that could inspire your consumers or followers on social media. Use a branded hashtag to measure progress and up the likelihood of a trending or viral campaign by being imaginative and making it pertinent to your target audience.
Bring in, sway, and persuade more customers
There are numerous techniques to draw in and keep both current and potential clients. Knowing the strategies and avenues at your disposal will help you carry it out successfully. Expert team of Exlval will aid in your comprehension of the foundational concepts of digital marketing, in addition to content, email, social media, SEO, and PPC. Additionally, you will understand how to develop, implement, and evaluate a digital marketing strategy. Register right away to get going!