Metrics play a pivotal role in providing direction to your business. Understanding the source of your client base and their needs and wants can help you improve brand loyalty and customer retention. Fortunately, in this age of digital marketing, keeping track of your customers has become a piece of cake.
There are a variety of marketing avenues, such as surveys, emails, Google analytics, and funnels, which can let you know where the pipeline of your customers leads to. However, selecting the right tools and resources for your business can be a tricky process.
That’s why we’ve compiled some of the most trusted tracking strategies that work for almost every business, thus enhancing the loyalty of your customers.
1. Survey your existing and past customers
Many businesses harbor this conception that they know everything there is to know about their customers. This is a grave mistake on their part and can lead to a serious underestimation of their clientele’s unpredictability.
You always have to give current and past customers a platform to keep you informed about their consumer habits. Then, you can adjust your business model accordingly to stay ahead of the curve.
To accomplish this purpose, surveys are an excellent tool. They help you fork out information from your customers that they aren’t likely to give out in normal circumstances. Most people are hesitant to created unneeded drama. If they don’t like doing business with you, instead of letting you know, they’ll discard you quietly and move on to something better. To make matters worse, they’ll talk to their friends, family, and share negative reviews on Facebook and Twitter, and drive your name to the dirt.
On the other hand, if you talk to them by way of a survey, you’ll subtly ask them to divulge any shortcoming they’ve come across without being too direct or confrontational. Remember, as a business, you can’t have a giant ego. You have to take every feedback seriously, no matter how condescending it sounds. In the future, this might spell wonders for you. Customers might actually appreciate you for making amends.
You can either use a custom Goggle survey using Google Forms or use a templated customer satisfaction platform, such as SurveyGizmo and SurveyMonkey.
2. Focus on email marketing
The gravedigger hasn’t called for the casket of email marketing despite what many people claim. Email marketing is still alive and kicking. According to Statista, 2019 saw the sending and reception of 293.6 billion emails—that number doesn’t at all signify that the days of email marketing are long gone.
Collecting your customer’s email addresses is like having a direct line to their smartphones; without it, your chances of reaching out to them are pretty slim. Email provides you with a safe way of communicating with your customers. It also gives you a lot of room to use your creative storytelling skills to draw customers in bulk to your business’s front door. You can send offers, newsletters, links to important pieces, and a host of other things to track and improve customer sales.
3. Find the main origin of your client base
Find out how your customers got to know about you. Did they see your advertisement on YouTube? Did they perform Google search for “creative design” and saw your business’s listing come up on Indeed or Craigslist? Did they get your contact details from a friend?
If you have no idea where your customers are flying in from, you’re probably doing something wrong. You should know firsthand what your customer’s primary mode of transport is to your business’s sliding doors.
If you’re not gauging your traffic, how will you possibly know if your marketing strategies are working or not? You can’t measure your return on investment this way.
You can get in touch with your customers through email, social media, or surveys to find out how they’re connecting with your customers. Using Google Analytics to check important online parameters to find your audience is a great choice. Alternatively, you can also use customer experience testing with bluetooth beacon technology to get much more accurate results.
4. Capitalise on this information
Once you’ve found out where your target customer is coming from, you should invest the most in that avenue. For example, if a Google advertisement is the reason behind 70% of your customer sales, focus your marketing budget on Facebook ads extensively.
For example, bidding on branded Google Ads keywords will be the right course of action, as they’re bringing in the big bucks for your business. Similarly, if most of your customers are connecting with you through online marketing avenues, such as your business’s website, you should redirect your marketing spend on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) to further boost your online rankings.
Aiming your budget at your most fruitful marketing avenue, however, isn’t enough. You also need to focus on customer loyalty to increase customer retention and keep track of your customers. People mostly judge the reputability of your business through online reviews. Here’s how you can leverage customer reviews to your own benefit:
- If you get a hit on Yelp, ask them to check-in. Yelp will automatically ask them to share their experience as a result.
- If they’ve come across you on Google, tell them to leave feedback on your Google My Business listing.
- If it’s through Facebook, request them to like your page to get regular product and service updates.
5. Study your business’s funnel
Every business devises a personalised funnel. A funnel is essentially a ladder through which every customer passes through to register. In the case of most funnels, customers start from the lowest level, such as a visit to a website. After that, their numbers keep on falling, leaving only a few to reach the final levels. Knowing the number of customers staying firm and retracing their steps at every step of the funnel is important to identify major choke and success points. Are many visitors discouraged after seeing your landing page? Are they moving out after signing up for a free trial?
Identifying these important phases in your funnel can help streamline and improve your customer acquisition process.
Bottom Line
To track your client base and improve sales, you need to use a diverse array of resources, such as funnels, surveys, Google Analytics, and email marketing to pinpoint the origins of your target market. Doing so will give you the best chance of replicating your success.
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