How To Get Into The Mind Of Your Customer
Getting inside the mind of your customer is the key to truly connecting with them. If you don’t take the time to figure out what makes your audience tick, you could be losing out on profits that should have been yours.
It’s easy to make the mistake of thinking that because you believe in your product, others will be swayed by the same things that influence you. It’s important to get out of your own mind and into theirs to know what will really move your potential clients to engage with your brand.
Here are 3 techniques you can use to gain a more in-depth understanding about your customers:
Method 1: Categorize your main group of clients
Customers differ greatly. Stefan Grafe, founder and managing partner of the brand engagement consultancy mext, says their research has uncovered four main types of consumers. These are:
1. Impulse buyers – more often than not, they purchase things on a whim. They also end up buying more than they originally intended to purchase.
2. Explorers – this particular group finds shopping an exciting experience. They are swayed by recommendations and take their time to browse through products.
3. Flutterers – these folks are easily influenced by brand new offers and promotions; as a result, they usually find shopping a tad overwhelming.
4. Strategists – just like a chess player maps out a strategy before making a move on the board, these shoppers make a list of exactly what they want to purchase before entering a store or site. Hence, the customers that fall under this particular category are not swayed by new influences, nor are they distracted by the latest fads and trends.
Determine what type of group the majority of your customers belong to. Then tailor your marketing to match their needs, tastes and budget. Once you do this, you’re likely to notice an increase in sales.
Method 2: Listen in on their channels
Monitoring the conversations your customers are having online will enable you to identify their emotional hot buttons, their likes and dislikes, their shopping preferences, and so on. You can then use this info to adjust your marketing accordingly.
For example, one savvy retailer managed to learn that young male skaters favored night-time skating. This prompted them to change their promotional message, resulting in a boost in profits.
This is where social media becomes extremely useful. Use sites such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter and various other niche forums to gauge customer behavior and gather plenty of valuable data.
Method 3: Consider becoming (or hiring) shoppers
Sometimes, small business owners can become so focused on their internal marketing progams and systems that they tend to ignore what their company looks like from a shopper’s viewpoint.
According to Daniel Banick, co-founder of digital ad agency August, it’s vital that businesses consider what their customers experience when they shop at an online store or site. That’s why this agency makes it a point to do a bit of “mystery shopping” before building an e-commerce site for a client.
Recently, when working with an outdoor equipment supplier, they patronized their online store, purchased several items from the selection on display and then shopped with competing sites. Finally, the agency organized a camping trip to determine the quality and durability of the equipment they bought.
This may sound like a bit much, but carrying out research like this will enable you to appreciate what it’s like from a consumer’s point of view, which may in turn lead you toward a better understanding of just what could be improved or changed in order to increase sales.
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