Do you know why your customers buy from you?

When I worked agency-side, I spent more time than I care to remember behind one-way mirrors in research facilities. I sat in dimly lit room after room surrounded by bowls of peanut M&Ms, chips and all the bottled water I could possibly drink. I watched and listened as groups of 6-8 ‘consumers’ dissected their experience at shelf when choosing one bag of cookies over another. But for all of its woes, when done well,  research can give us incredible insights into the minds of our customers.

An untapped opportunity

• Do you know why your customers buy from you?
• Do you know why people don’t buy from you?
• Do you know what people say when they talk about your business?
• Do you know your clients biggest fears?
• Do you know their biggest frustrations when hiring a business like yours?

These are all critical questions for any business to know the answer to…yet many don’t.

Since I began working with SMEs (small and medium enterprises), my exposure to research has come close to drying up. Many businesses within the events industry seem to forego formal dialogues with their customers. This is a shame because research can provide us with a window into your customer’s thoughts, providing those who listen with a big competitive advantage.

The power of research

It’s a mandate of mine to do research with existing and lapsed customers when I work with a new client. Let me give you an example. I’m working with a client right now on developing their brand strategy. I have a list of 17 companies to call. After connecting with just 4, I can already see patterns of frustrations with their target market about the entertainment industry and have uncovered 2 ‘very easy to implement’ business ideas that will solve their frustrations. I am also starting to get a true sense of how my client is perceived in the marketplace. It’s one thing to ask my client what other people think of them…it’s far more insightful to go to those people directly.

5 ideas to get the best out of your research

1) Know what you want to achieve . One of the most important questions to answer before you begin with research is “What am I looking to get out of the call”. In the example I gave above, my objectives were to find out 1) How my client was perceived in the marketplace and 2) What frustrations their clients encounter when booking entertainment.

2) Ask the right questions . Having an objective is one way of helping you hone your questions. However, it’s a natural tendency to want to ask every question you can. This is not a good use of your time nor your customer’s. Keep your questions to a minimum and ask yourself, “Is this question going to answer my objective(s)?”.

3) Call, don’t email . We’re all inundated with emails. None of us have enough time in the day. Knowing this, how effective will it be to email your customers with questions? For most SMEs it’s perfectly feasible to call your customers as you’re not dealing with a list of thousands. A two-way dialogue will also allow you to dig deeper on insights that may arise in your conversation.

4) Communicate value . When you call your customers to ask for their time, tell them what’s in it for them. In the case of my client, it was as simple as saying that their feedback would help us continue to build a better experience for them.

5) Consider outsourcing . If you call your customers they may hold back from being honest for fear of hurting or insulting you. The benefit of a third party is that fear is diminished. Ensure if you’re hiring someone that they are clear with your contacts that they are phoning on behalf of your company but do not work for you. Also, make sure you hire someone you feel will do a good job representing your business, someone who can work off-script in order to get the best insights and someone who can disseminate through the research to extract patterns and help you uncover ideas and solutions.

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When have you used research to better an experience for your customers? What tips would you provide to others to get the best out of their efforts?