Business life is much easier when you know your customers.
When you know your customers you can create content that you know they will like, find useful, and engage with.
You can showcase your products/services in such a way that they respond to and ultimately purchase.
And you can conduct any follow ups to encourage them to return and repeat their purchase with you.
All of this sounds like the perfect world – but just how do you get to know your customers?
Let’s take a look at how to make that happen.
Ways to Get to Know your Customers
Look at the Data
There is a wealth of content in your website’s analytics data – if you haven’t got it already, set up Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
There are of course further paid for analytics data tools that you can get into if you want to, but the two mentioned above are free for all. Why miss out on the freebies??
If you need help setting up your Google Analytics and Google Search Console accounts then get in touch with the team here at Digital Nachos.
Once you have access to your Google Analytics and Google Search Console account then take a look at the data there.
Actually look at the data, don’t glance, don’t skim, actually look at the data.
Ideally you want to look at the data when comparing it over past months or years, this gives you good image of where your site is and how its performing. If your data doesn’t stretch back that far yet, don’t worry, just work with what you have and make a note to check back in the future.
On Google Analytics you will want to look at factors such as…
- The number of users on your site
- The average time spent on site
- Where your users come from / traffic source
- Views per page
On Google Search Console, you will want to look at factors such as…
- The number of times your site shows in search engines (impressions)
- The number of times individuals have clicked on your site in search engines (clicks)
- The top queries that have shown your site in search engines
- The top pages that have been found by users
Whilst looking at the data think back to any marketing campaigns that you did – whether they were online or offline – and see whether you can see any peaks or troughs that line up with those campaign dates.
You can even look back at your sales data, comparing the sale dates with activity on site.
This will give you a better idea as to how people have in the past, and how they are currently finding your website. Your marketing efforts can be adjusted to improve on what you currently have, and you can put steps in place to increase traffic/sales from areas that you think can be improved upon.
Ask Them
A step that many business are hesitant to take when it comes to getting to know their customers, is simply to speak to them.
This can be done in many different forms, you can of course talk to them if you are lucky enough to see your customers face to face. Or you can carry out a survey in one form or another.
Surveys get a bad rep for being laborious for the individual completing the survey, but also time consuming for the business trying to learn more via the survey.
There are lots of online survey tools (some of which are free) that can take the hassle out of the surveys providing that you ask the right questions in surveys.
When it comes to surveys you need to keep the questions to a minimum, keep the questions concise, and ideally keep the possible responses to the questions as simple as possible. You can add open ended questions that require a bit more effort, but keep this to as few as possible – ideally just one per survey.
Encourage completion of the survey with an attractive and persuasive invitation, where suitable you can always offer entrance into a prize draw or competition but if you are going down that route make the prize something that your customers actually want and see value in.
Once you have closed the survey, ensure that you look at the responses and action what has been said. That way those who have done the survey (who are likely to be engaging with your business already) can see that you value their responses).
A popular take is to publish the results of the survey for your customers to see, this can be done with a few pretty infographics on a social post or email.
And if you want to branch out to new customers…
The above talks about how to find out more about your current customers, but how do you find out more about new customers or a new type of customer.
Simple.
Create your Ideal Customer Profile
When you are trying to target a new type of customer the best thing you can do is to create a customer profile for them. Give them an imaginary name and think about what they like, where they hang out, and how they might approach your business.
If you know a friend or family member who fits your idea customer profile then speak to then. Ask them things like…
- Where do they shop
- What social platform do they prefer
- What is currently their favourite shop/service that is most similar to yours
- What kind of budget do they have for your product/service
- What influences their decision making
- What businesses currently do that they hate
Naturally, one individual isn’t going to give you a rounded profile of your new customer or customer base, but it will be a starting point. It may help you to see your business through the eyes of your potential new customers.
All those ideas that will pop into your mind during these conversations, write them down and action them.
Focus on Attracting them
If you want to encourage robins into your garden this winter, you aren’t going to put out candy floss and mints. Instead you would put nest boxes in quiet places and mealworms in accessible feeders.
Your website is no different, if you want to attract new customers to your website then put out something that attracts them.
This can be tweaking your colour scheme, your offers/promotions, and even how your content is laid out to make it more accessible. Unifying that with any social posts, online ads, and offline marketing will then showcase your site in the best way for them.
Need help?
If you need assistance in getting to know your customers, attracting them and new customers to your website, then get in touch with the team here at Digital Nachos.
We can review your current offerings, make suggestions for improvements, and ultimately work with you to take your website to the next level.
Published: 16th Jan 2025