Within minutes, and often for not a lot of money, anyone with an internet connection can program and deploy a very basic customer feedback survey. However, just because you can do something does not imply you should do it. At least, not without the right objectives in mind and strategic planning.
The customer feedback puzzle is made up of numerous pieces. From goal-setting and project planning to data analytics and implementation of findings, we’ve got you covered.
As experts in customer insight strategy, the Pearl Lemon Consultants team will help you get the most out of a customer insight project, to help ensure that it gives you the information you really need, that you make the most of the data you gather and that the time and effort involved offers great ROI.
A Customer Insights Strategy is required for brands to get the most out of their efforts. Additional chances can be discovered by thinking beyond immediate responsibilities and analyzing how each piece contributes to the larger picture.
Taking a strategic approach will always provide more impactful results than undertaking self-contained, ad-hoc projects, whether it’s leveraging best practices, managing risk, or laying out a roadmap for future success.
What are Customer Insights?
Customer insights are defined as “the comprehension and interpretation of customer data, behaviors, and feedback into conclusions that may be used to enhance product development and customer service.”
These insights assist firms in obtaining a 360-degree customer view in order to fully understand customer behavior while making purchasing decisions. These insights also provide a better understanding of how customers think, which can assist business leaders in answering key issues like:
- Why are sales of a particular product declining?
- How likely is it that you’ll succeed with a new target market?
- What is your audience’s real opinion of your brand?
- What do buyers think about a new or upcoming product?
- How can you convince customers to upgrade or add-on to an existing product by purchasing more expensive things, upgrades, or add-ons?
- How can you persuade your customers to buy a product or service that already exists?
- What can you do to boost marketing campaign conversion rates?
- How can you learn more about market basket analysis?
Customer insights can be gleaned from a variety of sources, including customer support data, product and service evaluations, market research (such as how geography affects purchasing and where people spend their money), past purchases, and sentiment.
One of the challenges that many businesses face when it comes to customer insights strategy is how to gather relevant data – and enough of it – in the first place. Some elements are obvious – analytics tools like Google Analytics, when used properly, can be very helpful – but when it comes to gathering the real customer feedback needed, many businesses just don’t know how to reach enough people to make the project effective and worthwhile.
When working with Pearl Lemon Consultants, we’ll help you determine the best ways to gather this data, in a way that won’t annoy your targets and that will reach the largest number of them possible. For some that may be via social media, for others via email, or even text messaging, while many companies may benefit from a combination of all three.
What Businesses Gain From an Effective Customer Insights Strategy
You can create meaningful relationships with your customers, better understand the connected consumer, and achieve meaningful and quantifiable results by leveraging customer insights to influence strategic and tactical decisions. Other advantages and proactive activities that businesses can take as a result of customer insights include:
- Predict turnover
Have a better understanding of predicted revenue in the future and find areas where you can improve customer service and maybe reduce churn.
- Maximize lifetime value
Simply defined, the higher the lifetime value of your customers, the more money your organization can expect.
- Provide individualized experiences
Customers are increasingly expecting personalized interactions and experiences. You can more efficiently implement personalized experiences by harnessing customer insights.
- Better inventory planning for lower inventories and fewer markdowns
Using consumer insights, particularly sales data, can help you anticipate the amount of inventory you’ll need more accurately. Your firm will be less likely to have surplus stock that needs to be marked down if inventory levels are more accurate.
- Promotions targeted at consumers most likely to buy
With deep insight into customer purchasing history and other pertinent information, you can specifically target promotions to customers who are most likely to take advantage of them.
- Determine the best product pricing
The best product price is whatever your customers are willing to pay. However, on average, 30% of pricing decisions made by merchants each year are incorrect, resulting in revenue loss. With a better understanding of your customers, you can more efficiently establish product pricing that maximizes profits.
Expand into new markets or exit underperforming ones – better customer and sales data will have an impact on many aspects of operations, including sales success. With this information, you can figure out which new markets to pursue and which sectors aren’t providing a sufficient return on investment to be worth trying to remain in.
We'd Love To Hear From You!
The power of a well-planned, expertly executed customer insights strategy can’t be underestimated. Pearl Lemon Consultants can help you brainstorm, execute and benefit from the one that is just right for you.
Contact us today and let’s talk about just how we can help you.