Do You Really Know Your Customers?

As well as knowing their product or service like the back of their hand, a business should have equally strong expertise when it comes to knowing their customer base. Without an understanding of the wants and needs of their target clientele, they stand little chance of developing the tactics needed to persuade them to part with their money for that all-important sale.

This month has seen the release of new research from Box Shack which sheds light on a few misconceptions the property industry was working on. All too often we hear stressed out searchers exclaiming that they ‘Just want to be in for Christmas’, perpetuating the myth that most people move towards the latter end of the year, when in reality the findings reveal that in fact the opposite is true.

When they asked 1,000 people across the UK: “In an ideal world, in which quarter would you move home?” over half of Box Shack’s respondents said they would prefer to move between April and June, with as few as 6.79% indicating a preference for October-December.

It is easy to see how this shift in understanding can have a dramatic effect on an industry, leaving businesses questioning how they can take advantage of the findings. Rather than posting flyers to advertise their services in time for a pre-Christmas spruce up, painter decorators may find such promotional efforts receive a warmer response towards the beginning of the year when homeowners are trying to boost their property value to move around April time.

Wider research into the habits of your potential customers represents time well spent, but what about those customers who have been and gone? Finding out what brought them to you in the first place can help you improve your service in future, and most customers will be more than happy to fill in a quick questionnaire, asking about their experience, information which is likely to be invaluable. By asking how they found your business in the first place, and subsequently how their customer journey proceeded, you may reveal critical areas for improvement you might otherwise have been unaware of.

The crucial point is to not take offence, or ignore comments you’d rather have not heard. View all criticism as constructive and plan how you can integrate improvements into your business. By truly understanding your customers and looking at research relevant to your industry, you can avoid being blind to trends and developments which could have the potential to drive your business forwards.

Do You Really Know Your Customers?