Marketing To Today's 'Smart' Customer

The internet and the technology revolution have changed the profile of the modern day customer. They have the internet in their pockets on their smart phones and they don’t rely on television, radio and print media to get their information anymore. They expect your business to be accessible 24/7 through your website and they have access to an unprecedented amount of information to research and review your product and services. Through social media platforms they also have a medium to complain.  

Today’s ‘smart customers’ are precisely that, not to say that yesterday’s customers were not smart, it’s just that we live in a different world. Your marketing now needs to factor in social media, smart phones and mobile enabled websites. Having said that, good ‘old fashioned’ customer service is more important than ever before because each interaction with a customer has the potential to create a powerful advocate or a massive critic. They can spread their feedback via the social media network, their blog or even websites like Hotfrog or womo.com.au

You need to be one step ahead of your customers’ expectations and roll out the red carpet when it comes to customer service, so here’s some suggestions:-

Focus on your Best Customers

Most businesses derive 80% of their sales from 20% of their customers. As such, you should identify these key customers and give them preferential treatment. You’ll probably find 80% of your referrals come from 20% of your customers so you need to identify and reward their loyalty. You need to engage with them via email, SMS, newsletter and invite them to join a social media group so they keep spending with you rather than your competitors.

By knowing your customers’ purchase history you can tailor offers to suit their needs and the more information you can gather about their preferences the better. Clearly, all customer needs are different but segmenting your customers into groups allows you to provide more relevant offers and boost sales conversions.

Multiple Sales Channels

Websites are the modern day version of the business card. With Google dominating the search engines you need to have a quality website to generate sales and provide existing and prospective customers with reasons why they should deal with you. It is often the first point of contact with new customers and what type of first impression are you making?

The website wish list to satisfy these smart customers is lengthy. Make sure you are building a list of prospects and give away an e-book or a guide in exchange for a name and email address. Integrate social media into the site and if your target market is the Gen X and Gen Y demographic get your business on Facebook and open a Twitter account today. Remember, three quarters of small businesses aren’t using social media at all.

Build Trust with Customers

While ideally your website should be generating sales from strangers and customers alike, never forget that it’s the personal interaction and physical presence that builds relationships. By solving your customer’s problems and delivering quality products and services you will create repeat business and get them to broadcast their positive experience.