Blog/Newsletter

Happy get to know your customers day As a business owner, you may or may not be aware that the third Thursday of January, April, July, and October are all "Get to Know Your Customers Day" . I took these as a quarterly reminder to entrepreneurs that getting to know your clients creates a great amount of value. For business to be profitable they need to sell products and services that their customers will like. Although getting into the minds of customers is extremely difficult and stressful at times especially for a Small Business Owner, it is possible to improve customer experience by leveraging information that is acquired by implementing the right processes and focusing on the key data points.

Here are few ways of getting to know your customers better:

Host a Meet and Greet- Hosting a meet and greet even if it's virtual as a Business Owner gives your customers a look into you as an Entrepreneur and also says you are a human and there is a face behind your product or service. If you offer a more professional service, sponsor a customer appreciation event mixer at a local venue. If you're an online business, or to avoid face-to-face contact, you could host a Zoom happy hour.

Run Customer Surveys- Running customer surveys after each purchase, after each event, or podcast episode. Make sure you're asking questions to get to know them and not what they like about your product or service.

Use Social Media- Ask open ended questions on social media that customers and followers have to respond to. 69% of adults in the United States are social media users. That means it’s easier than ever to reach and engage with your audience.(Spillane, 2023) This is why social media is a good way to leverage new customers and make existing customers stay engaged with your product or service.

Roll Out a Loyalty Program- Rolling out a loyalty program keeps repeat customers coming back and also gives you insight or what your customers like that you sell. So, if you don’t already have one, this could be the perfect opportunity to get one off the ground. New prospects will appreciate the extra engagement as well. Starting a Birthday Gift Program is also a good way to know your customer demographics as well.

Create a Customer Profile-Creating a customer profile is a great way Small Business owners can better understand the demographics that they are working towards. As your business grows so will your customer profile. A customer profile is a great way for a company to gauge the needs of the customer. The profile must include a customer’s likes, dislikes, family background, and other important aspects which can be figured out in a survey after a purchase of products or services.

Get Customer Reviews –Getting Customer Reviews as a small business owner is vital to your business. Businesses can get reviews from their customers through various channels such as the comment box on social media platforms, testimonials on the company’s website or reviews by customers on business review websites such as Yelp and Google. Honest reviews on the above-mentioned platforms can be instrumental for companies to get to know their customers better.

ProTip- Conduct Keyword Research -Conducting Keyword Research can be expensive depending on the Business you have but can be worth it in the long run. The mindset of the customer can be better understood by using the keyword planning tool by Google. Customers conduct vigorous online research for the items they want to purchase and most importantly, from whom they want to purchase. Keyword research allows business enterprises to understand the interests of their target markets and the terms that customers use to find the product or service that they need. The main goal of keyword research is to find keyword phrases that are suitable for the business but it also helps to gain an understanding of how the customers are finding what they need. You can do this yourself but if you are not someone who is good at marketing or went to school for marketing this is something I would outsource through a site like Fiverr.

Getting to know your customers isn’t hard. But it can be a long process. So this is not something that will happen overnight. You should make this conversation a regular part of your transaction process. Make sure to ask questions every time you interact with customers. There are many ways to attract and engage existing and new customers. It's about knowing the tactics and channels available to do it effectively. In today’s complex and ever-evolving digital age, business owners have to leverage the available data to gain important insights into their customers that will help them expand their reach.