Getting To Know Your Customer

Central to the duties of the marketer is understanding the customer. Without knowing your customer’s pain points, behaviors, and wants, there is little chance that your marketing efforts will be successful. The fallout of the Coronavirus pandemic has changed everyone’s priorities: People who may have been inclined to spend more discretionary income or seek out certain services in the past may not have the resources to maintain these behaviors.

This does not mean, however, that they are completely removed from the market. Their needs have likely changed, and by understanding their new priorities, your efforts to effectively market during this time increase dramatically. Below are three basic communication tactics that can help you better understand your customers and can yield data that is reflective of who your customers are as people and what their future business decisions and needs will likely be.

Talking to Your Customers

The first tactic is to simply reach out to a set of customers and ask them questions. Selecting a handful of people with whom you have stronger connections will allow you the opportunity to better assess what your regular customers need and want from your company at this time.

This process of questioning can be accomplished through a variety of means including video calls, phone conversations, or even an online form. Regardless of the means through which you ask your customers questions, everyone on your team should agree with the questions before reaching out. This will ensure that your team is all on the same page and minimizes misinterpretation of incoming data.

As a secondary benefit, this helps businesses maintaining connections with people who may have decreased their business activity in the wake of the pandemic, which will build their affinity towards your company in the future.

The Importance of Surveys

Similar to the first tactic, a broad survey of people will yield more data that gives you a better idea of your customers’ needs. The main difference between the two tactics is that surveying covers a broader spectrum that extends beyond the handful of people you would question in the first tactic.

While you’ll get a more encompassing view of the needs of your target audience, the difficulty with this process is getting a high response rate. Incentivizing people to respond to a survey would likely help increase the amount of responses you get, like raffling off a giftcard to respondents. Whatever incentive you use, remind your audience that you’re genuinely looking for their feedback and asking for their opinions.

Landscape Reviews and Their Effectiveness

The final tactic is to do a landscape review of your customers’ media consumption and representation. This strategy offers the ability to speak to your customers in a personalized way. Accomplishing this review requires you to do research into your customer’s social media presence and wider media representation. Look at their websites and social media channels to see what they are posting about at the moment. Additionally, you can look to see if they have given interviews or were featured in news publications recently.

Researching your customers in this way will allow you the ability to see what they find most important for their customers. With this information in mind, you can craft a marketing effort that highlights the benefits their customers will receive from your product or service. This emphasis is key for establishing a more resonant connection with your customers, leading to more business activity and sales in the process.

Get Help With Market Research

At Slice, we understand that market research strategies can be challenging. If you would like to learn more about how we can help, contact our team of marketing experts now!