subject: Are You Listening To Your Customers [print this page] Are You Listening To Your Customers Are You Listening To Your Customers
Do you know your ideal customer? They are already coming to your business. Do you know what they are looking for? Why they come to you? Even more important, why are they not going to your competitors?
All of these questions form the foundation of any marketing strategy for your business. Going forward without knowing your customer makes as much sense as building a house without blueprints. The days of dart throwing marketing are over. Your message has to be targeted to the people who want to hear it.
Tip: Make sure your message is correctly targeted
Targeting is the name of the game, use it or perish! Yes it is that serious, this can not be overstated.
According to the Union of Concerned Scientist:
"The average American is exposed to about 3000 advertising messages a day, and globally corporations spend over $620 billion each year to make their products seem desirable and to get us to buy them."
With those kinds of numbers, the only way to reach your audience is to target your message in a way that will get their attention. Ask the right questions and interpret the responses correctly. Here are some of the questions every business should ask their customers:
Demographics (Age, Location, etc.)
What they like about your business
What they dislike about your business (pay close attention to this one)
Why do they come to you over competitors
What would improve their experience with your business?
All of these questions are essential and must be known and understood before any effective marketing can be launched. There is a plethora of ways to gather information. Options include:
Surveys
Polls
Comment Cards
Focus Groups
1 on 1 Conversations
It's up to you to decide what the most effective way for you to gather information. Once you receive the information, DO NOT ignore the responses that you do not agree with or are inconvenient. Treat each response as a nugget of gold that you are going to combine to create a solid bar of information.
