People-Centric Marketing: How to better understand your customers

In all areas of life individuals want to be heard, understood and feel that they matter. It is no different in the corporate world. In order to be understood and feel that you matter you first need to be listened to. That is where people-centric marketing comes in. People-centric marketing considers primarily “what is better for the consumer?”. To be able to engage in such decision-making, you need to know your customers.

To know and understand your customers, you need to listen to them. Only when you truly involve your customers can they have a sense of belonging and feel that they really do matter. And without understanding your customers you cannot take action to show them that they really matter to you. In short, without understanding your customers, you cannot take your business to the next level.

If you want to engage in people-centric marketing an in-depth insight is necessary. The better you know your customers the clearer it will be to you as to what is important to them. This helps you to develop products / services in a meaningful way. It can also help you to reach and communicate more efficiently with your customers. But how can one get to know your customers on such an intimate level?

It all begins with listening… Let’s start at the beginning and share ways in which you can better understand your customers.

Ask Questions…

One of the most effective ways of people-centric marketing often involves the most simple of actions: ask questions. Ask loyal customers why they support you so keenly. Ask why a customer suddenly stopped using your service.

By asking relevant questions you can gain valuable knowledge: Ask people what they want / need. Make asking, and listening, a continuous marketing strategy.

Regular phone conversations with customers, as well as feedback emails, can help you to get valuable information about their wants and needs, their likes and dislikes, and suggestions that they can bring to the table.

Consider your Website…

You can gain valuable customer insight when you talk to your customers as they browse your website, by means of a messenger service or even bot services. The data from interacting with your customers can help you to know them better and understand their preferences.

Moreover, additional information, relating to customer preferences, can be gained from a careful analysis of Google Analytics to see where your site traffic comes from. This can help you to create more authentic buyer personas.

You can also learn more about your customers from where they click and what they read. Again, a tool like Google Analytics may be very useful to help you understand how customers interact with your website. What makes people stay on a page? What makes people leave a page? This data gives valuable insights into what your viewers like or dislike and will help you to act accordingly.

Conduct Surveys…

A customer satisfaction survey can also help you to know and understand your customers. You can gain direct information for improving products / services, to suit your customers, if you ask direct focussed questions.

Conducting surveys shows that you have a real interest in your customers before and after they do business with you. A deep understanding of the customer is necessary in people-centric marketing. So, use the data gained through surveys in your marketing strategy. The survey insights can be acted upon to show customers that they truly matter.

Do Market Research…

Engage in continuous market research to ensure that you always understand your market. This gives you a chance to frequently fine-tune and improve your product / service.

Always have a good insight into your customers’ experience. Ascertain which features of your product / service customers have favoured over time, and which features they think are unnecessary. Understanding what is popular and what is less utilised will help you to improve on the product / service so that, again, they feel that they truly matter!

People-centric marketing requires increasing your customer engagement. If you act on the insights gained from listening and understanding, then customers will feel that they really matter to your organization. If they feel that they are involved in the growth of your business, then people begin to feel that they are valued. And when they feel valued and understood, they stay with you.

So, take time to listen to your customers. Get to understand what they experience and what they want from your business. Once you have a clear idea of who your ideal customers are and what they want, test your assumptions to make sure that you truly understand them. Then take the necessary steps to improve their experience.