It’s official: we are living in a world where data is the most expensive resource*. The idea that data is the new oil may just be the secret mantra of the tech giants who are growing bigger.
Their approach and perception of data is not unique but the collection, analysis, and use is unique. A few years back, Apple established a research group called ‘Apple Customer Pulse’ where they reached out to a select few Apple product owners. They surveyed this group to solicit their opinions on current Apple products, and frustrations, and then Apple made modifications based on the feedback.
This is Apple’s weapon to stay ahead of everyone - reaching out, listening, and understanding their customers, and then appending their products or services accordingly.
To help you stay ahead of the competition, we are going to talk about one of the ways to understand your customers, how to use that data to make business decisions, and how to craft marketing and sales strategies.
Even with all the data analysis tools available, the survey hasn’t lost its charm because it is a better option to reach out to a customer directly rather than studying them secretly. Not only do you receive clear answers to your questions, but surveys also make your audience feel heard and valued. Collecting data is one thing, but understanding massive chunks of data to come up with answers to questions is another. Understanding the data you collect is where accurate survey reporting comes in. You can use a survey tool with reporting available in the marketplace or you can utilize the survey module in SugarCRM. The benefit of using a survey module integrated with your CRM is that it provides a 360-degree view of any situation.
Survey reports and data can help you:
- Know your customers
- Research the market before launching a product or service
- Reinforce branding through content
- Measure customer satisfaction
With all these things combined, you can supercharge your business by focusing on your customers and target market bringing success and a clear product roadmap.
- Know Your Customers
There’s never a bad time to invest in building buyers’ personas for your company. It’s always better to have your personas ready before launching your product or business. While it is possible that you know, without a buyer’s persona you may miss small details, like their daily habits, lifestyle choices, beliefs, challenges or decision-making process, all of which can make a difference in how your brand is perceived.
Market research surveys provide demographic data to increase your customers’ knowledge, which in turn you can use for product development, content creation, tweaking the customer journey of your website, and more.
- Market Research Before a Launch
It’s a sure way to fail if you launch anything without having an insight into what your customers want. It’s always better to test the waters before the final launch. You can do this by investing in a focus group and ask them to review your product or conducting a survey about your industry and competitors. The data collected will give you insight into how customers perceive your industry and what are the gaps left by your competitors. This information is highly useful not only to market better but also to increase your product effectiveness making it more compatible with the market.
- Reinforce Branding Through Content
A survey report with all the data including preferences, perceptions, and traits of the target audience can be a goldmine for marketers—which is why survey reporting is so critical to any business. of your targeted audience. Through this data, you can understand what hurdles you will face in the market and consumer’s perception of your industry. This data can help you create content that is more targeted by refining language and understanding the priorities of your target audience. Additionally, through this data, you can further utilize it to create landing pages for lead conversion, FAQ pages for your product, and targeted email campaigns.
- Measure Customer Satisfaction
While this is not a new point, it’s still one of the most important. We already know this and is one of the reasons why surveys are popular but it is one of the easiest ways to utilize a survey in your business. Sending a survey after a customer just purchase or after their interaction with your support team can provide helpful insight into multiple areas. Using surveys in this stage provides you insight into technical faults, problems during the checkout process, or experience with your support team. An added benefit of the surveys is that positive customer reviews can be used as social proof reducing potential new customers’ anxiety which is very natural before starting out with a new brand.
Knowing your customers can be your secret weapon to success. And a simple three-question survey can also help you gather all the right data. You can get started with Sugar CRM survey module simply by searching ‘survey module’ on SugarOutfitters. And before investing in the module, make sure it has features like survey reporting, survey automation, net promoter score, skip logic, and data piping features.
* Article published by The Economist in May 2017.
** Apple Customer Pulse referenced in appleinsider
