Do you understand your customers?

Marketers need to have a clear understanding of their target customers? In fact, everybody working at the company should have a clear understanding of their target customers? If there is no clear understanding of customers then the company is in a vulnerable situation and needs to take evasive action or sales will diminish. First, the company should begin a dialogue with its customers to gain basic customer insight and begin to understand how they think, act, and feel. This can be done by visiting their offices, stores, warehouses, and manufacturing facilities in person and having one-on-one conversations. Visits are important but constant contact needs to be initiated through telephone calls, emails, and outings and other relationship building tactics. The key is to begin to build a relationship with the customer. Without this relationship there is no personal connection and they have no “skin in the game.”

While the dialogue building is beginning and the customer relationship is beginning to develop, a more comprehensive market research study should be planned. A detailed market research study should be executed on an annual basis and it should incorporate formal research methodologies such as: on-line surveys, focus groups, in-depth interviews, in-store research, and mystery shopping. All of these methods will increase customer insight tremendously and will move you toward a more thorough understanding of your target customers. When you understand your customers you will be in a better position to understand their needs, perceptions, and preferences. This new understanding will strengthen your relationship, make you more valuable to your target customers, and ultimately increase your sales.