What Exactly You Should Know About Your Customers

Any business seeking to improve its marketing strategies knows that it is important to know your customers. You can have a stellar product but have no one willing to pay for it if people don’t see why they need it. You won’t know how to show customers that they need your products unless you understand how they make purchasing decisions.

In the process of reassessing your campaigns and finding smarter and more efficient ways to reach consumers, you must have asked: what exactly should I know about my customers? Quite a few things, actually.

A thriving business knows how to reach their customers and convince them of their products’ necessity in their lives. Whether you conduct your research in-house or pay for market research, these are the key things to study to best promote your products to the public:

Information to Get About Your Customers

Here are the important questions successful businesses ask in the process of getting to know their customers.

  1. Who are your customers?

Start with the simplest question. What kinds of people purchase your products? That is, what are their ages, genders, and professions? Are they single or married? The basic information you get goes a long way in helping you tweak and shift your promotional materials to better resonate with a certain demographic.

For example, if you find out that the majority of your product users are senior citizens, then you should focus your marketing efforts on Facebook rather than Twitter or Instagram. If your crowd is the social media-savvy Gen Z, then TikTok is a great way to reach more people about your product.

Having a picture of who your customers are is the foundation upon which you will develop your strategies.

  1. What is their buying behavior?

Track their purchasing patterns to find out where your business is most effective and where it needs improvement. Some customers prefer shopping online, while others would rather physically visit stores to get your products, for instance. Give surveys to your customers to find out their reasons for their choices, too.

For online shoppers, find out how many customers browse your store using a desktop or laptop, and how many use their mobile phones or tablets. This guides how you optimize your websites to accommodate various users.

You should also find out what modes of payment they prefer. Gen X shoppers use credit and debit cards often, while millennials and Gen Z are more familiar with digital wallets.

  1. Why do they buy the products they buy?

Consumers purchase your products and come back to them for certain reasons. It pays to know how a product improves the quality of your customers’ lives so that you can keep emphasizing these for future launches and promotions.

Note that for essential products, the reasons are fairly straightforward. They need shampoo for their showers and detergents for their laundry, for example. In these instances, it helps to know why they choose to purchase from your store instead of your competitors.

On the other hand, if your product is not considered essential, find out why it appeals to consumers. If you sell accessories, decorations, or novelty items, customers usually find aesthetic or emotional function rather than a practical one for your products. Learning how a product serves your customers helps you further develop your product line.

  1. How do they perceive your brand?

Along with them choosing your products, find out what draws them to your brand. This tells you about your reputation to your customers.

There are times when the primary reason a customer supports your brand is that your values align with theirs. They may not necessarily consider your products better than competitors’ goods, but they respect your company’s mission and social awareness. While this is good news for public perception, it also presents a challenge to improve your products.

Remember that their perception of your brand is the reason they keep coming back to you. Play up these aspects when marketing your products.

  1. Is something keeping them from buying more?

Just because you have a steady stream of customers supporting your brand, does not mean you should get complacent. You have to find out why customers are not buying more than they are from your shop. A common reason is constraints due to pricing, so find a way to make your products more affordable, from bundles to discounts.

Loyal customers are the reason for the success of your business. If you want to keep your current customer base and gain more, then you must understand them and cater to their needs.