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Understanding your customers is crucial for business success. A customer persona provides you with detailed information about people who are buying products and services from your business, and any data about consumer's mindset is extremely valuable for developing effective sales pitches, improving your sales rate, gaining customer loyalty and securing new customers. Building an accurate persona of your customers enables you to focus your marketing efforts for maximum impact.
Analyze Existing Customers (But Don’t Get Paranoid!)
Existing customers are a valuable source of useful intel. The more you know about your clients, the easier it will be to provide products/services they really want. You can also use this information to target new customers and generate interest in your products. Purchase records can help to get a general idea of your customer's needs, but talking directly to your customers is the best way to gather more detailed information.
If you are selling products to other businesses, you will need to research individual companies and their-business operations. Look at their mission statement, website blog posts and social media accounts to gather information about their business. Use the information gathered from previous orders and repeat purchases to create a database of useful statistics about your customers. Look for patterns in their buying habits
Customer surveys and questionnaires are simple tools for gathering general information and statistics, while feedback forms allow customers to add comments about specific aspects of your business. Offering vouchers or free products for customers who take part in longer surveys is often the best strategy for learning about your target audience.
Collecting Information Ethically
Choosing the right information to collect will depend on type of business you are running. If you sell directly to public, you will want to collect general statistics, such as the age, location, job title and annual income of your customers. Other useful information may include your customers' hobbies, interest, marital status and spending habits
Understanding your customers' values and beliefs can be far-more useful than knowing about their general interests, but it can be difficult to gather information about personal beliefs through surveys and questionnaires. Follow regulations, and stop collecting information by eavesdropping or following conversations on social media. Although many companies do this background analytics, you can collect information directly from your clients using an opt-in framework which can provide greater insight into customer values and beliefs.
Keep hustling!