Knowing Your Customers...

Do you listen to your customers? Do you know what they really want? Of course, your initial answer may be “well…I want them to want my product.” But it goes deeper than that.

Knowing your target audience is a general task for any business owner. You do market research, compile the data, and soon enough, you’ll have a demographic.

Demographics describe the “who”: age, gender, economic status, and education. They give business owners great insight into what kind of people are converting into customers and can help make marketing efforts more targeted and effective. But, demographics can only tell you so much.

Truly knowing your customers is about more than numbers on a page, and it’s even more than knowing why your customers buy from you.

Knowing your customers means knowing what your customers want and giving it to them.

In the service industry, giving customers what they want isn’t always straightforward. In this more technology-centered world, customers are evolving as quickly as the newest smartphone models. It’s not as simple as improving a feature or rolling out a new product.

It’s a highly personalized, highly subjective practice, and it can take work; but, taking the time to identify your customers' expectations can yield greater returns than you could ever imagine. Within the service industry especially, technology has completely changed customer's expectations. However, technology is also equipping businesses with the tools such as advanced sentiment analysis and other AI-powered processes to help them learn more about customer behavior.

What Does “Knowing My Customers” Do for My Business?

Knowing what your customers want beyond your core product or service directly influences your consumer experience.

Being able to discern why your customers choose your product over a competitors’ is extremely valuable; maybe it’s as simple as pricing, or efficiency. But, one of the main reasons why customers come back isn’t just because the product or service is great. According to a study by McKinsey, 70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated. Customers choose you because you made them feel something—appreciated, respected, taken care of, listened to—and that resonates with them more than any discount or coupon ever could.

Surveys and other feedback mechanisms are really asking your customers one thing: was the service what they expected? Their answer dictates not only their sentiment but also drives your reputation, your net promoter score, and many other metrics, including overall profit: 55% of consumers would pay more for a better consumer experience according to Defaqto Research.

If you understand and anticipate the wants of your customers, you start tailoring the experience to their wants. The result: incredibly happy customers, positive feedback, high CSI scores, and in turn high retention.

How Can I Know My Customers?

Listen to what your customers are saying, be it implicitly or explicitly. Luckily, it’s not hard to find out what your customers think of you. This is where the results of Post-delivery feedback and OEM surveys become critical to understanding your customers' wants. For example, if customers are repeatedly mentioning online appointments, then a surefire way to improve the consumer experience for them is to enable that feature. If your customers are using their mobile devices to pay for other services like dining and shopping, but you are still asking “cash or check?”—they're letting you know what their preferences are for payment. You just have to stop guessing and start listening.

Take the guessing out of consumer experience. The technology is available and the tools are already at your fingertips!