Knowing your Customer

 Knowing ones customers is one of the most essential elements of any business, where Sales and Marketing solutions and strategies can be channeled effectively and efficiently so as to attract the right customer.

In getting to know your customer, there are three key questions you must ask:

1. Who are they?

2. What do they buy?

3. Why do they buy it?

Having spoken to a number of businesses, it is evident that one of the main points they have in common is knowledge of customer wants. In addition to this, knowledge and understanding of customer needs is too essential - a point not often delved into.

As a business owner, what you want is for customers to buy from you as opposed to your competitors. But how do you differentiate? This is where the use of a Unique Selling Proposition (UPS) comes in: a statement on what makes you and your company different from other vendors.

Identifying a market is a start but sustaining and gaining market share in business, one must have a well-defined (UPS) that makes you stand out. A person can learn a great deal about your customers by talking to them. Asking them why they're buying or not buying, what they may want to buy in the future and asking what other needs they have can give a valuable picture of what's important to them.

Strong sales are driven by emphasising the benefits that your product or service brings to your customers. If you know the challenges that face them, it's much easier to offer them solutions. It's also well worth keeping an eye on future developments in your customers' markets and lives. Knowing the trends that are going to influence your customers helps you to anticipate what they are going to need - and offer it to them as soon as they need it.

The reason why companies like Facebook, Google, Apple, Uber or Samsung survived and gained major market share is because they had a well-defined UPS, giving them the opportunity to further innovate and mold because they kept questioning why would their customers need them.