Back in my corporate days, I was called the mistress of the dark art of menu engineering.
Because part of my job was to predict what the sales were going to be on our new offer, what people would switch into, what they would move from as they tried out what’s new.
And although I loved the idea of being mysterious, there really wasn’t a big secret to how I did it.
I didn’t have a detailed customer avatar.
I certainly had nothing written down about my customers or ran focus groups or even collated endless “feedback” forms.
What I did do, always, was listen to the customer.
So that I could put myself in their shoes!
Our customers have a problem that they want a solution for, they need or want something that is going to help them in their lives, in some way.
But how do you know what they want?
This is a seriously simple tip!
Especially if you’re serving customers in person, on or off line.
Think about one or two of your best customers.
Think about who are they, what are their names, how often do they come into your business?
Have you got a couple that spring to mind straight away?
Don’t be tempted to think of everyone, just focus the ones that you really love and really love you.
And then ask some questions, talk to them and most importantly, listen to the answers!
Because people are telling us what they want, what they care about, what their problems are all the time.
We just need to listen, take note and care enough about their problem to do something about it!
If you’re not sure where to start, start with answering the question prompts below.
But feel free to keep going, ask more questions, get curious!
- What were they looking for when they found your business?
- What are their names?
- What do you talk about with them?
- What do they love?
- What do they hate?
- What sort of hobbies do they have?
- What age are they? Old, young, middle?
- Are they on social media? If they are, which one would they be on the most?
- Are they members of any clubs or associations?
- Are they creative or conservative?
- Corporate or local?
- What are the big challenges they’re facing right now? (think about the economy, what’s happening in the world around them, what’s happening in the world that they care about?)
- How will this affect what they buy?
- What are the problems that immediately affect them?
- What do they do currently to solve that problem?
Now what do you sell that they love and what more could you sell to them?
What would they love to have and why would they love it?
Let me know how you get on!
Cheers,
Karrie
