Take two customers:
Customer 1: Male; Born 1948: Grew up in England; Second Marriage: 2 Children: Successful; Wealthy: Enjoys skiing in the Alps in Winter; Likes dogs
Customer 2: Male; Born 1948: Grew up in England; Second Marriage: 2 Children: Successful; Wealthy: Enjoys skiing in the Alps in Winter; Likes dogs
You’d think there’d be similarities right? The ‘demograhics’ say so! Well, if you have a look below, you’ll see who these two customers actually are! I can’t help thinking that they are a little bit different!
I often hear people talking about ‘segmentation’ which is a way of ‘grouping’ customers together and sending the appropriate messages to these groups. Traditionally, we were often told to use ‘demographics’ to do this – people with similar ‘characteristics’ – age, family circumstances, income etc, but they often ignored things like ‘interests’, attitudes, values’ – all crucial things that influence people’s needs and wants, and therefore their buying behaviours. The example above was highlighted in a great article by Brian Solis and it illustrates the danger of just using ‘demographics’.
Understanding your customers and, crucially, showing them you know them can be a real differentiator. Creating personalised customer experiences is a key ingredient of ‘Dramatic Difference’ in many 3D businesses The ways customer focused businesses do this ranges from the local pub that recognises their customers when they walk in and knows their ‘regular tipple’ (a pint of Dark Hart at The Beehive, Harthill thanks Emma!) to the sophisticated use of BIG DATA and technology which tracks customers buying patterns and habits and responds accordingly (think Amazon: you recently purchased, you might like.…).
Whichever way you do it, in order to sell (more) to your customers, a key factor for success is getting to know them - I mean really know them!
So, 3 questions for you…
- How well do you know your customers?
- What processes do you have to get to know them?
- How do you ‘Demonstrate’ that you know them?
Did you guess? The two ‘customers’ were…..
