The Importance of Understanding Your Customer
One of the most essential factors in running a business is understanding your customers. Customer behavior should be one of the major driving forces behind the decisions you make. Knowing who they are, what struggles they face, and how you can solve those problems is the key to connecting with them on a meaningful level.
Creating A Customer Profile
Most businesses start with a Customer Profile to get a sense of what they can do for their customers. In a Customer Profile, you will identify demographics, story, needs, and solutions for your current customers and your ideal customer. All marketing campaigns are based on this information. Not only that, but this information will drive your value proposition. Below is a breakdown of each aspect of a Customer Profile.
Identify Demographics
The first part of the exercise is to outline your customer’s demographics. Age, marital status, finances, location, and ethnicity play a major role in a person’s decisions and what resonates with them. This data affects how they search for information and what they purchase. You’ll need to know their:
- Age
- Marital Status
- Children
- Location
- Finances
Next time you’re about to launch a marketing campaign or design a graphic for your business, take this information into account.
Outline Their Story
A backstory is the psychographic information about the customer. Outlining the events that lead up to the problem they are facing helps give you an idea of where they are coming from and the root problem. This part of the exercise informs what their needs are and why exactly they need them.
Determine Their Needs
Based on their story and how it relates to your product, what does the customer need. Maybe your customer has recently moved into your area looking for a change in their life, and they aren’t connected to their community yet. A supportive community and a way to connect with others would be a major need of theirs. How does your product or service make it easier for them to connect with others?
Provide a Solution
Now that you know who your customer is, what their story is, and what their basic needs are, identify how you can meet and exceed those needs. Think about what you can do as a business to provide the ideal solution for your customer. Your solution could be features in software, content, services, or a product. This will help you be laser-focused as to what services you should offer.
Ready to Know Your Customers?
Understanding your customer is essential to running a successful business. Knowing where they come from, what their needs are, and how you can help them will help is the key to getting their attention. Here at The Spring Entrepreneur Hub, we offer connections to resources and mentoring to get the help you need to get your business up and running. If you would like to learn more about The Spring, click the link here.
If you’re a business leader or entrepreneur looking for a safe space to share experiences, find comradery, and brainstorm solutions to problems, the SCI Accelerate round table is perfect for you. To learn more about the Accelerate Roundtable Program, click the link here.
