It’s true the more you know your customers, the more money you’ll make and the less you need to spend on marketing and acquiring each customer.
Here’s 5 ways to get to you know your customers and save money.
Don’t target people who aren’t interested or don’t need you
Let’s tackle the obvious one first. It makes complete sense that if you know who your customer you should target them directly. You can save the cost of mailing people who you know aren’t interested and advertise to only the people who are in need of your product or service. Pay per click marketing is a great way to learn who is clicking on your links in Google and adjusting your campaigns to target the people who are converting.
2. Get your message heard
I see lots of the ‘Spray and Pray’ method of marketing -the ‘if i put myself out there enough to plenty of people then someone will buy’ approach. This is a common mistake many people make. By spreading their net really wide they make the holes bigger and all the good fish don’t get caught. This in itself is costly. Make sure you’re something to someone not nothing to everyone. Be specific in who you are going to talk to, be specific in your message and get it heard.
3. Tailor your message
Similarly to point 2 make sure you tailor what you are saying to each audience. This makes your target audience even smaller but stronger. For example, some people might like your product for its convenience, whereas others may like it because it of the technology. Use the data you have on customers to tailor the message. Take Tesco for example. They assess your shopping patterns and will offer different products to different shoppers.
4. Take time to really understand your audience
How much time do you really take to understand your customers? Does a quick glance at Google Analytics suffice? The more you know about your customers. the more you’ll understand about their needs and motivations, not just their purchasing cycle. Understanding what triggers them to purchase will also help to pinpoint when you need to do your marketing not just where. There’s lots of ways to get to know your customers from Google Analytics to asking your customers and even running mini feedback / research groups. You might find they provide you with some great insights into your products, which could change how they are marketed or change the product itself.
5. Build a closer relationship with your customers
It is always cheaper to keep a customer than to acquire a new one, but so many businesses are focused on the next sale that they neglect their existing customers. Take time to nurture your customers. Keep in regular contact with them and build relationships with them through engaging content. Reward their trust in you and prioritise them. It’s no surprise that many companies are now offering the same deals to their existing customers as they do to new ones. Remember, customers almost always have a choice.
If you follow these 5 steps you will get to know your customers better, find ways to target them and start to build relationships with them. Every step of this will save you money.
If you’d like to find out more or need help to target the right customers, please get in touch.