4 ways to learn from your consumers

Catering to your market is more than just churning out a product and hoping they’d like it. Much like any relationship, that between business and customer starts out with knowing each other and making decisions based on that information.

For startups, this may mean a lot of trial and error. To help you start off on the right foot, here are 4 surefire ways to learn from your consumers.

Start a conversation

This applies to traditional and modern means of connecting to your customer base. The best way to do this is to hear what they have to say. Make it easy to get in touch with you. Use a memorable 1800 or 1300 number so that calling you becomes both convenient and affordable.

Open various accounts on social media networks and keep them updated. This shows that you’re always available for a quick chat. It’s also a great way to learn about your market’s interests at the moment.

Collect customer data

Startups need not worry about hiring experts to collect data for them. Inbound numbers come with free self-management portals that put together this information for you for no added fees.

Knowing your peak hours can be used for staffing decisions, 1300 number routing schemes, and setting hours of operations. It helps to know which areas your customers are coming from, and where expansion would be likely. Different numbers can also be used for each campaign, so you can measure which ones are making ROI.

Read online reviews

Despite the onset of mixed media platforms, word of mouth remains to be the most powerful marketing tool. In fact, a recent survey shows that 67.7% of people say that online reviews have an impact on their purchasing decisions.

Take the time to read through what customers are saying about you, but don’t be hurt by any negative comments. Use proactive ways to highlight your positive reviews and improve your product or service to naturally bring down negative ones.

Go over call recordings

Customer loyalty is what every venture thrives on. Successful people are always on the lookout for things to improve in order to keep their market happy. It always helps to go back to what transpired during calls to get an insight on how effective your process is.

A call recording service is a great tool to do this. Having recorded samples makes training new and existing staff about good and not so good business practices more effective. It’s also an easy way to check for compliance to legal and business rules.

With knowledge comes the responsibility to use it to give the best customer experience. For help on any of your business communication needs, call us at 1 300 ALLTEL or visit us at www.alltel.com.au.