January 21, 2016 may be national Get To Know Your Customers Day, but we believe that everyday is a great day to learn more about your customers. They are the reason you’re able to sell products and services, and by understanding them, you’re able to better serve their needs.

Below is just a few of the ways you can use customer research to get the most benefits from your marketing.

Discover Your Customers

Getting to know your customers includes looking at the customers you already have, but also looking at the customers you hope to have in the future. The better you understand who is in your target audience, the better you’ll be able to position your brand in their direction.

Demographics

An important part of targeting your audience is identifying which demographics best represent them. Knowing someone’s background, age and gender can help sellers understand their buying habits. It can also play a role in exposing more customers to advertising; your customers’ demographics can indicate which social media sites they are using, and what time of day they are searching for products and services.

Anticipate Their Needs

What problems do your customers have? How can your products or services solve these problems? One of the greatest benefits of customer research is the ability to identify your customers’ needs. By already having an idea of what your customer hopes to find, you can ensure that your business will be there when they begin searching for a product such as yours.

Competitors

It’s important to realize that your company may not be the only option for consumers. When doing customer research you should identify how many competing businesses potential customers see and who they are. Understanding this, helps you to identify what the buying process will be like when it comes time for the customer to choose a product.

Exceed Their Expectations

Because you will already know what it is that your customer needs, it should be easy to exceed their expectations. Make your website easy to find through SEO marketing, and make it easy to use through mobile optimization. If customers come across you, and are happy with what they see, they will have no reason to turn to other options. This, in turn, increases customer loyalty and encourages your current customers to bring you new customers through positive word-of-mouth.

Learning more about your customers can be hard for companies in their beginning stages, but this is the time that it’s most important. Whether you’re just now launching your business, or you’ve been around for a while, knowing your customers can play a huge role in success. It can also save you a lot of time and money, as not knowing your customers could cost you more. Learn about the customers you already have, and in the end, you’ll have more customers after you.