3 secret spots you’ll find customer gold in your business today
Would you like to know the three secret customer-insight goldmines that will leave you shouting “eureka!”
Can I share a secret with you? There is gold hidden in your business right now; treasures that will transform your business, your success and attract customers to you from far-and-wide; untold riches that most people overlook and undervalue, so it remains undiscovered and under-utilised.
Luckily, you’re not “most of people”. You’re a pioneer. You’re a leader. You’re a visionary. And this means I can share this hidden treasure with you.
But, like every treasure map, you first need to have the key before you can find the treasure. The key is the only way to understand the map, and ultimately access the riches it leads to.
The key to our treasure is our customer. Every great brand, business, and marketing success story has achieved greatness because they understood their customer inside-and-out.
The secret to the best customer market research hidden in your business
I mean really understood their customer. Their needs, wants, desires and behaviours. Unfortunately, understanding the customer isn’t as easy as it sounds. For this reason, these same brands and businesses spend a lot of time and money on research, analysis, tracking and more. Desperately trying to tap into the hearts and minds of customers.
But, like all great treasure hunts, while most people frantically search for gold in far off lands, the real treasure has been sitting right under their nose the whole time.
So today, I'm going to point you in the direction of the treasure hiding in plain sight. I’ll show you where to dig for golden insight into your customer and most importantly, give you a few tips that will show you how to turn a lump of coal into a sparkling diamond.
GOLD MINE #1: YOUR RESERVATIONS TEAM OR CALL CENTRE
WHERE TO DIG
It’s time to listen. Listen to customer calls, read the customer service emails and chats. Ensure you're mining a random, broad, cross-section so you can experience the good, the bad and the ugly of the customer experience.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Clues that tell you what triggered contact; what/where did they come from, e.g. "I saw your ad TV" "I was on the website", "Your email said..", "The newspaper mentioned".
Who influences their decision "My wife and I..", "My friend told me...", "There is a group of us that...".
The specific language they use to describe your product and offers. This can be practical and emotional, "At first it was smooth but then...", "Thank you; we were delighted at...", "Saw your two for one...".
Great customer insight comes down to seeing trends and patterns in customer behaviour
HOW TO CREATE GOLD
You'll know you've listened/read enough call centre communications when you start to see patterns. Certain channels will keep coming up, you'll get a feel for what promotions, creative and CTA's are driving people to action, you'll detect recurring complaints or issues, and you'll develop a more intimate understanding of who your customer is - which is the most powerful outcome of all.
It is a mining process. So go in with open eyes, open ears and an open mind in search of patterns, and you'll soon discover treasures of information and insight waiting for you.
Once you've identified patterns, use them in your marketing plans and tactics.
Invest more in the channels mentioned and relook at those that aren't, design future promotions based on the ones that attracted people to message or chat, and build communications and content that not only talks to your customer but the people that influence them.
You'll be amazed at what you can learn when you take the time to observe/listen to the points of interaction with your customer and sales support team.
GOLD MINE #2: SOCIAL MEDIA COMMENTS
WHERE TO DIG
The comments, on your posts AND the posts of your competitors. Yep - competitors.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
What posts get more comments than average - good or bad. This is a sign as to what appeals, or repulses, your customer.
Sentiment. What's the general feeling around a post. Are the comments mostly positive, negative, angry, frustrated, supportive, excited... the list goes on.
Images or testimonials shared in comments. These could become incredible UGC.
Those "top fans" who always engaging with your content.
HOW TO CREATE GOLD
A post that has more comments than the average post is a signal that the content connects with need, desire, aspiration, interest or perception your customer holds. Once you know what connects with your customer, double down on it in your content strategy. I don't just mean in your organic social media posts BTW - I'm talking ALL channels.
What do I mean when I say all content and all channels? Well, say you're a bar that does a fun poll on your Instagram Stories about negroni vs martini, and negroni comes in #1 by a long shot. Then damn, you need to give the people more of what they want - do a negroni recipe email series, negroni video tutorial on youtube and for your paid social ads, trial a "Negroni Night" promo for a month. You get the gist.
This holds true for your competitor comments too. Watching and reading their comments will quickly tell you what products and promotions appeal to their customer - who is also YOUR customer (if you listen to them).
Sentiment is gold because it can help navigate the direction of your brand, communication and even product development. Sentiment in social can indicate if there's a storm on the horizon, tell you if the market is/isn't ready for a new idea, and point you towards opportunities or ideas you may have overlooked.
As for the UGC, well, this is still one of the most undervalued content resources. If a customer shares a photo related to your product experience in your comments, eureka! The most successful social content is raw, authentic, human and personal. UGC embodies all of these things. And it's free!
Why user-generated content is the most important content marketing.
This holds true for your competitor comments too. Watching and reading their comments will quickly tell you what products and promotions appeal to their customer - who is also YOUR customer (if you listen to them).
Sentiment is gold because it can help navigate the direction of your brand, communication and even product development. Sentiment in social can indicate if there's a storm on the horizon, tell you if the market is/isn't ready for a new idea, and point you towards opportunities or ideas you may have overlooked.
As for the UGC, well, this is still one of the most undervalued content resources. If a customer shares a photo related to your product experience in your comments, eureka! The most successful social content is raw, authentic, human and personal. UGC embodies all of these things. And it's free!
Equally as valuable are the comments customers leave gushing about your brand or product. I see brands repeatedly miss or dismiss comments that are effectively brand endorsements. Endorsements they'd pay a fortune for in other channels. These are your raving fans! When you come across a raving fan, who has left a raving comment, message them! Immediately! Ask them if they'd like to reshare the comments as a review. If they're responsive to that, they may also be responsive to their words becoming an official testimonial in other marketing materials. You'll be surprised how many raving fans would be thrilled to see their comment reshared by the brand they love.
Speaking of raving fans, social is where you'll find the customers who could eventually become brand ambassadors for you. Facebook will tell you who your Top Fans are. The customers who are liking, commenting and sharing pretty much everything you post. Not every Top Fan has the potential to become an ambassador, but some do and boy oh boy, the power of a carefully curated collection of customer ambassador is priceless.
GOLD MINE #3: THE HUMBLE FEEDBACK FORM
WHERE TO DIG
Handwritten and digital feedback forms
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
What your customer likes or dislikes about your product/service and why - yes sometimes your customer will include the why.
The language they use. Specific words and phrases used to describe your product and their experience.
HOW TO CREATE GOLD
This sounds like an obvious one, but sadly it's not. It still amazes me how many organisations go through the process of issuing customer feedback forms, but never read them! Crazy, I know!
If this sounds a little too familiar, then I beg you - please volunteer to spent time reading some of the feedback forms. Even just 30 minutes a week. The knowledge you'll gather will be invaluable. And like the first two goldmines, you'll quickly see trends and patterns emerging in your customer feedback. Whether the feedback is positive or negative, it is reflective of your customer’s experience, beliefs and feelings.
If you take this insight and share it with the rest of your team, better yet, share it across departments - sales, product development, strategy - you’ll be the source of countless eureka moments.