Because the internet now dominates the consumer world, customers have more choices and options than ever before. It’s critical to recognize and adjust your business model in response to these shifting demands if you want to achieve your brand’s objectives.
We targeted customers who were less concerned with the price of Club Tattoo. Instead, they base their purchasing decisions on reputation, trust, and peace of mind. Given what we were selling, we knew we couldn’t be the cheapest, so we focused on attracting customers who needed to know their safety was a top priority. We were adamant about making things right if something went wrong.
Customers aren’t just purchasing your product; they’re also purchasing life-enriching experiences. They want to be treated with respect, and they want to know that your company isn’t just interested in their business; it’s also interested in providing something exceptional that stands out from the competition. Creating unique customer experiences distinguishes you from the competition, signaling to customers that they are valued and important to your company’s success.
Read 4 Tips to Improve Customer Service.
To create a customer-experience-based business model, follow these guidelines:
1. Figure out who you want to reach
All of this sounds fantastic, but what if you have no idea who to target with your product? It’s just as important (if not more) to know who you’re trying to sell to as it is to know what you’re selling. You must understand your ideal or intended audience in order to create things that resonate with people. A target audience’s behaviors, interests, demographics, and location are all intersecting characteristics. It’s easier to tailor your brand to your customer’s needs if you know more about them.
Three key considerations should be prioritized:
- Your service or product
- The demographics of your target audience
- The mission or goal of your company.
Do your homework. Create customer profiles, gather and track data, analyze the data, and compile it into a comprehensive database. You can only rely on guesswork if you don’t have any data. Making assumptions may appear to be simpler or more straightforward, but it is detrimental to your brand. Labeling customers based on your assumptions rather than knowing who they are will not result in memorable customer experiences. When people are genuinely appreciated and valued, they notice.
2. Understand how your customers interact with each of your company’s touchpoints
Each stage in which a customer interacts with your brand is referred to as a touchpoint. Every touchpoint in a conversation is a Touchpoint:
- Seeing an advertisement or being in the vicinity of a store (realization and recognizing the need)
- Reading social media posts (awareness and connection to product)
- Inquiring about a product by calling the company (evaluation and consideration of the product)
- Getting the product and using it (consumption)
Each stage is crucial because it progresses your client through the purchasing process. However, before you can create an exceptional experience, you must first understand what your client values. It’s just as important to know how to make that happen as it is to have a good product or service.
The first step in providing an exceptional experience is to create a system that will track all of these interactions. Data from a customer relationship management system, social media accounts, and conversations with clients and employees can all be incorporated into this system. Investing time in developing the system will pay off when you can create more effective touchpoints.
3. Keep your message consistent
To become a market leader, your company must communicate consistently with its target market. If you change your marketing tools, logos, and messaging too frequently, your customers, including potential customers, will become confused. For customers to get to know and trust your brand, message consistency is critical, and this extends to all of your marketing, from social media ads to business cards. Consistent fonts, colors, logos, and messages will help your clients trust you and your company, resulting in brand loyalty.
So, what is your brand’s message to customers? You must ensure that the message is crystal clear to someone who is unfamiliar with your brand but still connects with your raving fans. Doing research is the best way to find out how you’re doing with your brand messaging.
Request feedback on your marketing materials from strangers. What do they think it’s saying in particular? Stay open and receptive to their feedback rather than asking leading questions.
It takes time to refine your brand message, but if you stick to a strong message, you’ll be top of mind when your clients need your product or services.
4. Follow up with customers on a regular basis
When small businesses don’t check in on their customers, they miss out on valuable feedback and opportunities. You can make a dissatisfied customer happy or discover a flaw in your customer service by being deliberate in your follow-up. It also allows you to learn about their perceptions of your brand, as well as show them that you care about improving customer satisfaction.
Our company makes it a habit to call customers after they’ve completed an order to find out how their experience went. If there is a problem, we will do everything we can to resolve it. We also ask them to leave honest Yelp and social media reviews, and we reward them with free stickers that make them feel like they’re a part of the Club Tattoo family. One of the characteristics that have made us a standout in our industry is our ability to follow up and make the customer feel valued.
The process of developing customer experience-based business models is ongoing and time-consuming. Nonetheless, the benefits of the work will be invaluable to your company as you work to establish yourself in your market.
Learn more from business and read 5 Store Owner Responsibilities.
