Three Ways to Better Align your Business with Consumer Needs - Steve Parker, Jr.-Levelwing

Consumers You can39t always trust them to tell you exactly what they want and it can be hard to determine their needs based on intuition That39s why we always recommend making decisions about your business based on data So what kind of data will help you determine a consumer39s wants and needs We have a few ideasSocial Research IntelligenceSocial intelligence is something that we really believe in It entails social media monitoring or listening to public consumer updates on Twitter Facebook YouTube in blogs forums and more Whenever a consumer discusses your product brand or competition you can be privy to what they say as long as their comments are public How does this help Well for starters you can assess consumer sentiment about your brand and products or services If there is an area that you need to improve we can guarantee that a consumer is talking about it right now online This feedback can be indispensable because it can lead you to make datadriven business decisions based on what consumers want Instead of creating a focus group or interfering with their time on your site with surveys you can obtain unsolicited ie unfiltered and realtime opinions that can help you make better business choices What kinds of better business choices can be based off of social intelligence Here are just a few examples1 Improve marketing Sure you know that your red velvet cupcakes sell the best but do you know why Perhaps it39s the icing consistency perhaps it39s the price or perhaps it39s the one that is always available at 3pm when most people crave sugar There are so many reasons out there for you to consider If you tap into the minds of the consumer it may help narrow down your reasons thus improving your marketing Let39s say it39s the icing You can start a campaign that tells consumers that this particular icing is now available on every flavor of cake Let39s say it39s the 3pm availability You can create a campaign that is targeted at afternoon snackers and tailor messaging directly to them2 Improve customer service Perhaps it39s not cupcakes Instead you are a dentist As you glean insights from your social research you notice that the waiting room comes up as a sticking point for most patients In fact it may keep them from returning to your business You can then set out to improve upon this aspect of your business you could implement scheduling changes to decrease the time customers spend in the waiting room or work on making your waiting room nicer Add magazines a coffee maker a TV a vending machineamp8211whatever Now you39ve provided customers with an additional reason to come back to your business3 Find out what your competition is up to Sure there are plenty of ways to assess your competition but none may be as detailed as what you will hear from your customers Therefore it is important to create a social research strategy that encompasses your competition What are consumers comparing about your two businesses How does each succeed and where can each improve You can glean information about what customers think regarding your competitions39 promotions warranty andor policies guarantees and their loyalty to the brand This will help you determine ways in which you can gain a competitive edge Price Sensitivity AnalysisMany businesses set their prices and forget it for years but this does not optimize your business as your margins and overhead fluctuate far more often Price sensitivity analysis essentially aims to find the optimal combination of your cost incurred your price point and consumer demand Creating a graph that manipulates these variables allows you to determine at what price point consumers will buy the product or service from you and not your competitors and at what price point allows you to maximize profit To assess how much consumers are willing to pay you can look at historical data like trended demand over time or simply submit a surveyUserExperience TestingOur last idea for aligning your business with consumer needs is userexperience testing This takes place online and is a way for you to tell how your website performs with consumers Your website is usually the first impression a consumer has about your brand nowadays If they have a bad experience the first time they will find other places to visit the next time they39re in the purchase consideration phase If they have trouble loading your site navigating its pages if they are subjected to ugly 404 pages or reach roadblocks in your conversion funnel you can bet that they will not return Therefore it is important to marry your data and creative in order to create a website that is aesthetically pleasing search enginefriendly and most importantly user friendlyTo do this you must monitor users39 reactions and engagement with your website Then collect and analyze user feedback in order to create the optimal user experience This will give you insight into what consumers find most valuable about your site which gives you the opportunity to expand that offering or component You can gain insight about your website39s design copy navigability and more which will allow you to make decisions that positively impact your business Let39s say for example that you39re trying to sell a product but most consumers are coming to your site just to get reviews and information It39s time to discover ways in which you can enhance the profitability of the site and capture consumers who are lower in the purchase funnel This can all be done with userexperience testingThis article has been syndicated with permission from Asking Smarter QuestionsSteve Parker Jr is a CoFounder and Managing Partner of Levelwing a digital advertising agency that provides datadriven marketing solutions Steve can be reached at sparkerlevelwingcom Follow me on Twitter at sparkerjrRead all Steve39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at AskingSmarterQuestionscomCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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Three Ways to Better Align your Business with Consumer Needs - Steve Parker, Jr.-Levelwing

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