Information on your customer base is some of the most important knowledge you can gain. This information allows you to take advantage of your best elements and drop the unhelpful ones– essentially, it’s the data that will show you what changes will best benefit both you and the consumer. Here are a few ways you can gain new insights into your customer base.
Build Their Trust
Your first priority should be to build a trusting relationship between you and the consumer. Show them your dedication to their success! Let them know you and your vision of what your business can do for them. Be as accommodating as possible; validate their concerns and work to alleviate or solve those issues in an efficient way. Make sure your customer service is trained to not only help your customers, but to take note of frequent issues and implement solutions to prevent them in the future. Brag about your success a little! Show testimonials of other consumers’ positive experiences with your company. Establish a reputation of integrity and determination to provide the best quality of products or services available.
Gather Customer Data
Understand who your customers are! What traits are shared between the customers you get the most business from? What exactly do they want? Why do they want it? Where, when, and how are the best circumstances for them to receive or access that product or service in question? People are willing to share personal information if it means a better quality experience for them… Studies have shown that 46% of baby boomers are willing to share their personal information in certain circumstances. Through such information, you can create and offer even relevant products and services to individual people, providing a more personalized and enticing experience for them. You can gather this data through brief surveys following any transaction, sign up information for subscriptions to your company’s email ads, as a “member” of your loyal customer group, and through interactions on your websites or social media pages.
Use Your Employees’ Observations
Your employees are at the frontlines of your company! They interact most with your customers, and therefore can collect some of the most valuable data as to what your customers want most. Take advantage of this resource by asking for their insight into your customers— what commonalities are there in the crowd you draw in? What kinds of things do they mention they like or wish were different? What do they find out brought those customers into the store? Utilize your employees as more than a function of performance, but as a gathering point for important information that can impact your business significantly!
Insight into your customer base will help you shape your business plan, production, and presentation. Don’t ignore this essential information as you create the most successful business possible!
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