As a small business owner, wouldn’t it be much easier if you could anticipate the wants, needs, and desires of your core audience? Imagine being able to read their minds and meet their every need; you’d save a ton of time and money, that’s for sure.
While none of us are mind readers per se, there are a few different ways that we can get a sense of what our audience wants. And when we can get a grasp on this and anticipate what our audience is interested in, we can better target our marketing efforts and overall performance.
It might not be mine reading, but it’s still pretty great. Here are two primary ways that we can stay in tune with our customers and target audience to get a better understanding what they want and how their needs are shifting.
Become More Heavily Involved In Social Media
Notice we didn’t say “talk more” in social media. Nothing serves as a better window into what your audience is interested in than social media. On any given day, you can find strings of conversation on Twitter and Facebook that give huge clues and indicators as to how your audience feels about certain issues or topics.
You should especially pay attention to any conversations that mention your brand. If you see something negative about your business mentioned, don’t waste your time getting angry. View the criticism as a critique and see what you can do to fix it.
Peer Into the Future
Stay well-read about trends and breakthroughs in your industry. Any articles you read that event hints at a potential trend that experts re forecasting for the future should be at the top of your list. Learn everything you can about such trends and make sure you know everything there is to know about it by the time it had made it to the mainstream. This keeps you ahead of your competitors and helps you to meet the needs of your audience while everyone else is still catching up.
Your customers are, after all, the bread and butter of your business. Being able to anticipate their needs will not only keep them happy, but make you look prepared and eager to please them.
