Monday, March 5, 2012

Think You Know Your Customers? Think Again

What they really like is beyond traditional demographics

I ask my clients to describe their typical customer. What I get is male age 40-55, median income $75k, US, homeowner, 2 kids, white, 50/50 married/divorced, job, job position, blah, blah, blah.  So I ask the question again and again.  By this time they are giving me this quizzical look  Sometimes I think they wonder, who is this guy?
With so many sources of available information and the proliferation of social media websites; more people are engaged and giving of their personal information, sometimes not knowing the implications; but I'll save that for a future discussion. So as a business owner or manager you need to dig beyond the traditional demographic. What you find out about your customers may surprise you.

How do you start to find out about your customers, ask them to help.  Develop questionaires to ask them about their attitudes, their interests, look at your sales data, inquire how they use your product or service.  You might also capture their viewing habits with regard to your website.  Now you can also use social media to determine some of their personal and professional contacts and interests.  For example, if they are on Linkedin, take a look at their profile; what type of groups are they a member, are they engaged or merely sideline participants.  If your business is on Facebook, has your customer 'Liked' you?  If so, can you access some of their interests and friends. What are their interests in music, books and much more.  Have you considered having an app capture a number of these items?   Are they engaged on your Facebook page? Do they respond to polls or other posts?  What can you learn about them with this information.
In today's marketplace, you need to know a lot more about your customer. Get started by learning more about your current customers, this will help you target new ones. 

What methods and metrics do you use to understand your customer mix?
Robert

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