Why Better Understanding Customers Is A Challenge For Marketers

A recent study by Experian reveals that one of the biggest challenges faced by marketers is gaining a full understanding of their prospect’s thoughts, feelings and motivations. More than half of business owners and managers reported that while understanding customers is a key goal, it is also one of the most difficult things to accomplish for their brands. Understanding your target customer boosts engagement, increases your ability to personalize and target your market and even improves your ability to connect online.

Increased Personalization

Customers are more likely to engage with brands that deliver a personalized experience; unless and until you understand what your prospects are thinking and what they want, it will be nearly impossible to deliver a customer experience. Kiosk surveys that deliver real-time feedback make it easy to get a better understanding of what your customers are thinking and why they decided to purchase. By polling those prospects who decide to take the final step to purchase and determining what went into that decision, you can get a better idea of the specific things that you can do to offer a more personalized experience.

Improved ROI

When you fully understand what your customer wants and needs from your product or service, you are better able to deliver; a concrete understanding of those needs ensures that you are not wasting any of your efforts. Delivering what your prospects want, communicating with them in a way that resonates and engaging with them on their preferred platforms boosts your return on y our marketing investment and ensures that you are not wasting valuable resources on the incorrect approach.

Targeting the Correct Market

An understanding of what motivates your customers to buy and what it is about your brand that appeals to them allows you to correctly target your marketing efforts. A mismatch in this area could lead wasted time and effort; if you are trying to cultivate the wrong group, in the wrong location, you simply won’t be able to resonate or forge a true connection. Learning more about your target prospects and developing a buyer persona via on-site surveys and research can give you some valuable insight into the way these consumers think and allow you to tailor your approach to suit each specific group.

Real-Time Connections

Understanding not only your key customer but his or her journey allows you to connect in real time. The best venue for those real time, engagement building connections is social media — provided you choose the right network for your prospects. You can Tweet all day, but if your target customers are all playing and posting on Instagram, your efforts will be wasted. Understanding of where your prospects hang out and invest their time allows you to engage with them in real-time in the right location. If you don’t “get” which networks are most valued to your market, you simply won’t be able to engage or interact in real time. A simple iPad survey app can provide valuable insight into your prospects habits and let you know what sites you should be paying attention to if you want to connect in real time.

The best way to learn what your customers are thinking and what they want is to ask them — but striking the right balance between seeking information and asking too many questions, too often can be a challenge. Our goal is to help you get the insight and information you need and to enhance the customer experience without making too many demands on your customers or asking for too much of their time.

Originally published at QuickTapSurvey Blog.