Putting your customer at the heart of your business - Using customer insight to drive marketing strategy
The ‘Customer Centric Approach’ – why it’s the only way to do business
Why are you in business?
What problem do you solve?
Who do you want to help?
What is at the very heart of why you do what you do?
These are all questions I’m sure you’ve asked yourself more than a dozen times, getting to the core of what you do and why you do it is the key to making your business a success.
Of course, there are some out there, in business for the sole purpose of making a quick buck, but something tells me it goes deeper for you.
There’s a sweet spot where what you love, what you know, and who you want to reach overlap, and this is where a truly successful business can flourish.
Knowing your customer is the key to succeeding in business. Everything you do needs to centre around identifying their needs, serving them, bringing them value, solving their problems.
This is known as a ‘Customer Centric Approach’.
“a business strategy that's based on putting your customer first and at the core of your business in order to provide a positive experience and build long-term relationships.”
Putting your customer first.
Designing your marketing around your customers wants and needs is the only way to make a true connection and to build the trust that leads to investment.
You should absolutely avoid getting stuck on the processes or marketing fads that everyone else is using. There is no ‘one size fits all’ marketing strategy. This will only lead to YOUR customer getting lost, and you’ll forget about the real people you are speaking to.
Confuse them and you’ll lose them
As humans, we each see ourselves as unique and at the centre of our own story.
As a business we need to honour that. Your customers don’t see themselves as leads or part of a funnel, so don’t treat them like that – they are real people with real lives and problems to solve.
By taking the time to listen to them, understand them, and offer value through your marketing, your messaging will more easily resonate with them and provoke a connection.
When a customer doesn’t feel seen or understood, they feel confused about the story they are being told. You will lose them before you’ve even had a chance to get going.
Businesses need to appreciate how buyer journeys are becoming more and more complex. A multitude of fluctuating external factors are affecting their decision-making process.
We must never assume that we know what someone wants or how they make a decision, but, we can take steps towards understanding those factors.
Ad campaigns are all well and good, but as a standalone marketing tactic, they are not enough to convert your customers. They certainly won’t work if you haven’t put in the time and research behind the scenes to really understand the complexities of your customers’ buying journey.
Research suggests that there are 11 touchpoints on a customer journey prior to investment.
“Customer touchpoints are your brand's points of customer contact, from start to finish. For example, customers may find your business online or in an ad, see ratings and reviews, visit your website, shop at your retail store, or contact your customer service.”
How to make your marketing customer centric
So, how do you get to the heart of understanding your customer?
By creating your ‘Ideal Client Avatar’.
An ideal client/customer avatar is a fully developed picture of exactly who your customer is, their loves and loathes, the problem they need solving, their stage in life, their hopes for the future.
It’s so much more than mere demographics e.g. age, location, online platforms.
Demographics don’t tell you what is at the core of a person’s decision making.
You need to understand what drives your audience. What do they care about? What will be the ‘locksmith’ moment that pushes them into market? Where have they previously looked to solve these issues?
You need to meet them exactly where they are right now, speak their language, make them feel seen.
Dig deeper to understand your customer
What is a locksmith moment? And why do you need to understand which ones will lead your customer to you?
‘Locksmith Moments’ are things that happen in your customers’ buying journey, that push them to take the next step or convert to the buy-in stage.
Here’s a super simple example:
You’ve been thinking about upgrading your TV for a while, you’ve looked at what’s available but not purchased yet. You don’t NEED a new one, but you know there are some great models out there.
Then your old TV breaks, now, your situation has changed. You DO need a new TV, if you want to carry on enjoying your favourite box sets!
Where do you turn to first? What do you need to make you buy?
Have you seen an advert recently? An offer in a local shop?
How fast can you get your new TV? Is delivery time a large component of what influences your decision.
To meet your needs as a customer in this situation, brands need to be in the spaces you are searching and they need to be serving you with the right messages that will lead you to convert, and buy their TV!
So, that’s what you need to know, but how do you get that information?
Let your customers tell you themselves
The best and simplest way to find out what someone wants, what they care about and how they make buying decisions, is to ask them.
Customer interviews are invaluable when it comes to building a clear picture of who your customer is and where they are RIGHT NOW, so you can better reach them and serve them with what they need.
We’re not just talking questionnaires either, a real customer interview is a two-way conversation.
It may start out with standard questions, but the conversation can evolve to dig deeper into what the customer is really saying and how they are best connected with.
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Who’s asking the questions?
If you’re thinking, ‘when am I going to find the time to do all these interviews and where do I even start?’ Then maybe you should consider the benefits to outsourcing to a freelancer.
There’s the obvious:
No need for training in the field, an expert is ready to go with the necessary experience to complete the task in hand.
You’ll receive a comprehensive breakdown of the results, whilst freeing up your time to focus on what you love.
But possibly what is most valuable is an objective point of view.
Consider this, you are biased about your wonderful product, also how much you believe your customer will benefit from investing in you. That’s understandable, it’s your business, your passion!
But, reality is, this bias can really skew the results of a customer interview.
An objective freelancer may see areas that need drilling down into more, negatives that might otherwise be skipped over that can truly help shape your offering and ultimately make it more successful.
They also have no investment in the outcome, so they are able to deliver a transparent and insightful report following the interview.
Giving you a clear picture of who you are reaching out to, and how to connect with them.
All this gives you the key to a comprehensive marketing strategy that converts.
Want to find out more? Ready to start truly understanding your customers?
Get in touch for a chat to explore how I can support you and your business.