5 tested techniques to find out what your customers want

December 8, 2020

5 min.

Do you think you know all there is to know about managing customer needs? Many companies say, 'Oh, we know exactly what our customers' needs are,' when in reality, they don't do their research. They are not 'watching' their existing and potential customers to see how they behave and interact to get some valuable insights.

You need to take a close look at your customers, be honest with yourself and ask: Am I giving them what they want?

When it comes to managing customer needs, we all need to be mindful. Knowing them better than they know themselves is key to achieving your business goals.

In this article, you'll discover 5 easy techniques you can use to understand your customers better.

Contents

#1 Check out the reviews to get better at managing customer needs

The internet can be seen as a huge forum where consumers express their positive or negative opinions towards different products and services. It's good to know that in some cases, they evaluate them based on impressions, experiences, and feedback from other consumers that are on the same page as them.

Customer reviews are critical because they present you with objective data that can help you manage customer needs and, thus, improve your business.

You can read reviews on Google, Amazon, Facebook, Yelp, etc.

Yelp, for example, is a free website that lets consumers rate businesses on a five-star scale. You can also respond to reviewers, but make sure to take a balanced and polite approach, regardless of the reviews you receive.

Here is how you can create a Yelp business account:

First of all, go to https://biz.yelp.ca. Then click the 'Get started' button. You have to search for your business - if it's not listed, don't worry, you can simply add it!

The next step is to create a business owner account. Just fill out the required information and create your account. Once you've completed this step, Yelp will send you a confirmation email.

Then click on the link provided in the email received from Yelp to complete your company listing, as well as business details, and make further edits if needed.

That's it! Now you know how to create a Yelp business account.

Remember that consumers tend to be more honest in reviews than directly with you, so make sure you take some time to read what they're saying. But don't just read them; take action and better your services so you can give your customers what they want.

📚Recommended reading: How to Nurture Sales Leads to Clients

#2 Find out what your competitors are doing

When managing customer needs, you should check out the competition to observe what they are up to. Competitive analysis is an essential part of any marketing strategy. If you think strategically, you will know exactly what to look for in your competition research and how you can use the information to your benefit.

How can you find out what your competitors are doing?

First things first, remember that this competitive analysis is not about stealing others' ideas, it's about identifying their strengths and weaknesses so you can find your competitive advantages. You can only satisfy your customers if you'll have a unique brand strategy and positioning for your business.

That being said, there are so many ways to check on your competition: analyze their website, social media channels, study industry reports, etc. You can get some useful tips from other industries too.

#3 Build more robust buyer personas

Before diving in, do you know what a buyer persona is precise?

If not, it'd be quite important to know because it allows you to better position yourself when managing customer needs.

You should know that your buyer persona is not the same as your target audience. A target audience refers to a crowd of customers, while a buyer persona is more focused on a specific customer - it's a character that represents your ideal customer.

How can you build a robust buyer persona?

The first step is to do thorough audience research. Your buyer persona needs to be based on real data, not gut instinct. You can consider details like:

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Location
  • Language
  • Profession

However, many people make the mistake of using only generic customer demographics like the ones we've mentioned above. But building buyer personas requires much more than this kind of data.

The next step is to determine their interests, attitudes, behaviors, budget power and patterns, what channels they use, where they like to spend their time, what are their needs, wants, goals and pain points, and everything in between.

A great way to build your buyer persona is by interviewing or sending a survey to the customers who already purchased your product or service. Make sure to keep them short and sweet because otherwise, they will not be useful.

Google Analytics is also a useful tool to use to get valuable insights.

#4 Follow your customers on social media

Social media is another effective way to find out what your customers do in their everyday lives. Track their online behavior, and you might be surprised that it's not what you expected.

Follow your customers on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin to discover what services and products they like and use, how they communicate, what they're sharing, how they interact with other brands, etc.

#5 Take a look at the data from customer analytics

Whenever customers click on your website, they provide useful insights into their online behavior. So track their activity on your website because the way they use it can tell a lot about how your services or products interact with the users.

Google Analytics is an excellent tool for gathering data like how long customers spend on a page and your bounce rate. All these insights should help you understand what your customers like, what's retaining their attention, and what's making them leave.

If you haven't used Google Analytics before, here is what you need to do:

  1. Create a Google Analytics account
  2. Add the name, URL, and industry of your website
  3. Add a view to your property
  4. Add your tracking code directly after the opening tag of your site
  5. Visit your Google Analytics portal and verify if the code is working.

Besides these techniques, don't forget to put yourself in your customers' shoes. Step away a little bit from your business before creating your strategy. Think about their approach and how they see you.

Conclusion

An essential component of growth that is at any businesses' fingertips is its customers. Your business development depends on whether you can satisfy your customers' needs or not.

As entrepreneurs, we spend so much time working to improve our products or services. Sometimes we forget how important it is to focus on our customers and understand their expectations.

If you're going to be managing customer needs correctly, it's crucial to do a little digging. This research doesn't have to be a hassle, and you can use these 5 easy techniques that we've talked about here. In the end, the trick is to find the best affordable ways to gather as much information as possible about your customers.

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Kommo is a pioneering Messenger Based Sales CRM software that helps businesses achieve more sales and create long-lasting relationships with their customers. It is a tool that enables companies to reach better results and increase their profits.

Ovi Negrean

Co-founder and CEO of SocialBee. He helps startups, small businesses, freelancers, and agencies build their brand awareness.

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