Okay, so you are now blogging, connecting through LinkedIn, communicating via Twitter, engaging with your customers on Facebook, but do you really know your customers and prospects? So often I ask my customers to provide a description or demographics of their target audience and they can’t answer the question. Oh, they provide me some vague descriptor that could relate to almost anyone. But, do you really know and understand who buys your products and services? What are their likes? What are their dislikes? How often do they like to receive communication from you? What vehicle do they prefer to receive your communications? Via email, eNewsletters, or snail mail? What type of information do they want to receive from you? New product information, company announcements, technical information? In order to communicate effectively with your target audience you must be able to describe them in detail. Not just their title or type of company they work in.
Do You Understand Your Target Audience?
One way to discern this type of information is to survey your prospects and customers. With new technology such as SurveyMonkey or LinkedIn polls, there is no excuse not to garner specific information about your target audience. With the data that you get from your market research, you will be able to more effectively reach your customers. And, don’t just send one market research survey. Plan to do this at least annually. The market changes so rapidly that you’ll need to keep up to-date with your customer’s immediate concerns.
Another way of gathering information is to monitor your website statistics. If you use Google Analytics or some other program, find out who is visiting your website, how many pages they are viewing and if they are registering for more information about your company. Measure the opens, clicks and other metrics from your eNewsletters. Many of the eNewsletter companies, like Constant Contact provide you that type of information for each email you distribute. Also measure your social media activity. Are you gaining likes on your business Facebook page? Do you have more followers each week on your Twitter account? Using tools like Twitterfeed you can monitor how many people have clicked your links on your Twitter account. If you find that people aren’t engaging with your content as you would like, then regroup, and find out what type of information they may want to read.
Once you discover what your customers’ needs are, then start providing compelling content that will lead to more dialogue and engagement. Be engaging with your posts. Generate content that shows you are an expert in your field. Hopefully, your content will generate a positive reaction and your followers will want to retweet your message. Make your content relevant to your audience. Make it fun. Show your personality. Put a Share Button on your blog so that your content can easily be shared by others.
As we’ve discussed in other posts on this blog, segment your target audience. Don’t assume that your mass data base of customers have the exact same interests, problems, or needs. By knowing your target audience in detail, you will be able to drive dynamic content to help you build rapport with your customers. Personalization is the key.
By putting a few of these ideas into practice will help you be head and shoulders above your competition and help you gain a competitive edge.
