Creative Ways to Get to Know Your Consumer
Many brand teams think they need big budgets and big data sets to discover breakthrough consumer insights.
But we’ve got a newsflash for you, Walter Cronkite... You don’t.
Read on for five creative ways to better understand your consumer target without breaking the bank.
Digital Listening
Harness the power of a little place called the World Wide Web where all your customers live. Find your target consumers on social media, in virtual groups and online communities. Listen and learn. Analyze customer reviews to confirm what they love and (more importantly) what they don’t to the confirm the problems to solve with your messaging and innovation.
2. Observational Ethnographies
Break away from behind your laptop and get into your customers’ world. Observe what they do, say and buy. Watch (from a distance!) how they interact with your products or services, and take note of their behaviors and any pain points. Then journey map it. In-the-moment insights in natural environments often spark ideas to make the path to purchase and experience easier.
4. Intercept Interviews
While observational ethnographies reveal real-world behavior, in-person interviews offer the opportunity to engage with your consumers confirm why they buy. With permission from on-premise places or in public spaces, ask quick, clarifying questions. Listen to stories. Be open to ideas for improvement as you get to know the faces of your brand opportunity spaces.
4. Stakeholder Interviews
Talk with your most valued stakeholders, especially your sales team, on the front lines of customer interactions day-to-day. Your team and partners can provide valuable insights about preferences, pain points, and values that drive decisions. Most know your targets so well, you might be able to skip segmentation and create your own personas for customer-centric messaging and offerings.
5. StarryEyed Insights Sprints
Collaborate with us to quickly get to know your consumers with our proven quantitative or qualitative methodologies. Our Consumer Snapshot is a short and sweet, online survey among your email subscribers to confirm your customers, competition and key pportunities. Our Consumer Illumination is real-world research with your current and aspirational targets for rich, qualitative learnings that help you understand and create enduring connections with your audience better than anyone else.