Getting to know your customers may seem like another item to put on your to-do list – but it’s crucial to growing your business and gaining new clients.
Whether you’ve been in business for months or years, it’s always wise to know your customers. You may notice things that haven’t stood out to you before, like how your target market has changed or that there’s a demand for certain products or features that you can easily add to your offerings.
This guide gives practical advice for getting familiar with your customers and why it’s important.
The ideal client VS your target market
Marketers talk often about finding your target market, but it’s also essential to identify your ideal client.
Your target market is broad, general, and large – it refers to anyone and everyone who might be interested in your products or services because of their life circumstances, preferences, or their demographics. It’s critical to identify your target market, especially when starting out in business so that you direct your advertising efforts (and dollars) for successful results.
Your ideal customer is a narrow, detailed picture of who you want to buy your products or services. They’ll likely be a member of your target market, but they’ve successfully made it through to the funnel to the point of purchase. They love your brand and they’re willing to advocate for you in all circumstances.
Why is knowing your ideal customers important?
You should learn as much about your ideal customer as you can because you can get valuable clues about who will ultimately purchase – and love – your products or services.
Let’s face it: not everyone who buys what you have to offer will come away 100 percent satisfied every single time. While making sales is great, you want to sell to happy customers since happy customers will advocate for you and your product.
So, if what you had to offer didn’t work for someone, try to find out why, and determine if you need to make improvements. Knowing your customers gives you valuable information to tweak your current offerings, create or design new products, and keep your customers happy along the way. Insights into your customers can also help you understand how to differentiate your business from competitors.
How to connect with your ideal customers
There are plenty of simple ways to connect with your customers, even in the days of social distancing. Here are a few ideas:
Host a client-only event:
This has to be done virtually during the pandemic, but you can host an exclusive Zoom meeting (with some freebies) to show your appreciation to your clients. During this time, get to know the attendees and discover what drew them to you in the first place. In normal circumstances, you could hold this event in person with food, drinks, and a speaker or some other special feature to catch people’s interest.
Send out surveys:
People are often willing to fill out a survey via email about their experience with your business. Keep it simple with just a handful of questions, and include some open-ended ones where people can describe their experiences and provide feedback on your product or service.
Reach out to them personally:
In some cases, it’s appropriate to reach out directly to customers for feedback. You might send an email specifically to a customer or give them a quick call to ask a few questions. This is a great way to build rapport, and customers often appreciate the personal touch if it’s done tastefully.
The new year is a great time to prioritise getting to know your clients, especially after changes that may have occurred during the pandemic. If you need systems and tools for getting to know your clients, an online business manager (OBM) can help.
An online business manager (OBM) is an all-in-one solution for business management, human resources, process management, and team supervision. As fully remote workers, they can integrate seamlessly with your online business team.
If you need help staying organised, reaching your goals, and assembling an all-star team, an OBM can handle these tasks so that you can focus on high-level planning, which allows you to take your business to the next level. Reach out to REAVA today if you’d like help from an OBM.
