Understanding your customer base is a key part of running a business successfully. Your customer base are the people who keep you in business, after all, and knowing what they want and how to get it to them is the name of the game.
And so, there are some key elements to ensuring you get to know and understand the people you’re selling to. If you’re curious about some of these key ways, be sure to keep on reading for more detail.
Create a Persona
A customer or marketing persona is one of the best tools you can put to use during a time like this. After all, if you want to get to know your customer base, you’re going to need to get inside their minds, and figure out who they are, where they come from, what they do, and why all of those factors affect their shopping habits.
So, draft up a few different personas. Think about the average age of your customer, or 2 to 3 different ages you know shop with you. Think about their gender, and how that would affect what they need in day to day life. Think about the job they work, and the hours they’re on their feet or sitting at home; what would be the most convenient product for them to purchase, or the most convenient way for them to shop? It’s questions like these that ensure your customer personas go the extra mile!
Get to Know Your Competitors
You’re also going to want to know your market competitors. You’ll want to understand how they do things within their business, and most of all, how they interact with their customer base. Because if you can work out how your competitors manage things, you can come up with ways to do things better, or to offer a different perspective you think they’re missing out on.
It’s one of the best ways to competitively price your items, as well as provide a good customer service to the people shopping with you. What could you give them that they can’t get anywhere else, even with a similar store down the street?
Ask For Their Feedback
Of course, you’re always going to want to ask your customers directly about their customer experience. Asking for feedback is a lot more common these days; as business owners, we want to get to the heart of what people need from the companies around them that they shop with, and there are more ways than ever for a person to voice their opinion. When you’re a small time business looking to get to know your customer base, this is an advantage!
For example, via the internet. There’s no better way to find out what they like and don’t like about your business; if they can tell you themselves, via online polls or anonymous surveys, they’re going to feel a lot better about being honest and open with you.
So, do you understand your customer base?
