How Well Do You Know Your Consumer?

Marketing follows a simple law – consumers purchase products that fit their needs.  The better a company knows its consumers’ needs,  the more likely its products and communications will solve these needs.   

If your company sells products or services that are ultimately purchased by a consumer, take this simple test:

Rate your brand / business / company as to the highest level attained when it comes to understanding your customer target.  Begin at number one and work your way higher up the scale  – be honest:

1. We understand our target because we see them shop and buy our products.  Our retailers, distributors and sales team tell us who they are.
2. We have data that confirms our target demographic (age, gender, where they live) as well as what they like and dislike about our products.
3. We track purchase behavior – how often our consumer makes purchases, how much they purchase, and how loyal they are to our brand.
4. We understand the reasons our consumer decide to purchase or not purchase products in our category.  We also know why they will or will not choose our brand over the competition
5. We know the psychological needs of our target and can group the population into meaningful segments.  We have buyer flow data.  We have conducted research that allows us to be with them when they use our product to uncover insights based on these observations.

If asked to rate their understanding of their consumer, many companies, if honest, would have to rate themselves lower than they would like to. Smaller companies will likely rate themselves at a number one or two on the scale above as it does take investment and focus to build this knowledge. Big companies operate at higher levels.  

Observation to understanding. It isn’t important to reach the top level, but each next level can make a huge difference.