What do customers really want from your business?

Why it’s important to understand your customer’s needs

One of the most important things you can do to increase your chances of getting your messages heard is to find your target customer.

I realize that there are a ton of posts out there teaching you how to do this. Everyone wants you to answer questions like – is your best customer a man or a woman? Do they have kids or are they single or grandparents? What box do they check when describing their income level?

We can ask and answer questions all day until we find our perfect customers. And then what do you have?  Most likely this really long list of characteristics about this person.

Have you ever stopped to think about how this information will help get all these perfect customers to buy your products or services?

Because it’s not just about whether your stuff is cooler than the guys down the street. That use to work in the days before we could type out a question on our phones and come up with the answer and where to buy it with a click and touch of a screen.

Now we have to dig deeper to make the sale. You have to show your target customers that your company is a problem solver to that question they just typed into their phones.

Marketing Yourself as a Problem Solver

To put your small business or blog in this place, you need to ask yourself the basic question – What problem does my product or program solve?

Let’s take that down even further:

• Does my coaching program make my customer’s life easier?
• Will the process that I teach help them do things quicker?
• Does my product give them more value for less cost than the others?

I realize your answers to these questions are great for businesses that sell directly to customers but what if you sell to another business or a blogger? For those of you who sell to other businesses who help others in their community, you’ll need to take this a step further.

To grow your business to business, you need to understand more than just your customers. You need to understand your customer’s customer and how your business can help them make more sales.

To help you understand how your company can become like a team player instead of just a vendor, think about doing a little research:

• Learn about the other choices { your competition } and their suppliers that they could use instead of working with you. Find your competitors’ websites and social network sites and see how they compare to your business or blog.
• Take the time to talk to your customers and learn more about their top issues and concerns. Ask them to give you a picture of what their customer’s experience is like and what part of their sales process causes them problems.

When you get a chance to talk to your customer about their business or how they run their blog, ask them the following questions:

• What part does your products play in their sales cycle?
• Can one of your programs help them get to their sales goals faster?
• How can your benefits help your customer sell to their customer? { if you’re stuck on how to find your benefits, check out this post to help you walk through this process to get your answers. }
• How can you focus on your customer’s business concerns?

And really spend some time online doing some research.

The top 5% of sales people schedule time in their day to look up a company before they set an appointment. They read, analyze and monitor what’s going on in their industry.

They don’t have anything more to help them with their research than you already have in your laptop or smart phone.

There’s a ton of information out in the interwebs for you to read to help you become a more effective partner to the small businesses or bloggers that you sell to. When your customers see how you understand how to get them more customers, there’s no longer a need for a sales pitch.

Understanding your customer’s problems and how your business is their solution is the key to getting repeat business. Take the time to answer these questions and you should start to see the full picture of how your products or services solve your customers’ problems.

You’ll realize that you’ll know your customer so well that you’ll start giving them what they want even before they ask for it.

Struggling to make more sales on social media?

What would it feel like if your coaching programs were sold out? Or you could sell your products online because you were engaging in natural, meaningful conversations that don’t feel like a cheesy salesperson?

Imagine feeling confident because you’ve made real connections with the right people who know what you do and how you can help them. You know how to show up in your online spaces, sharing content that creates a sense of community with your customers.

Marketing on social media doesn’t overwhelm you anymore. You easily slip in and out of marketing in your social sites every week while still having time to build your business.

And you did it because you worked the steps in the Connect to More Customers Online Challenge.

Do you feel like this?

• I don’t have anything to say that people want to hear.
• I’m uncomfortable seeing myself on video.
• I’m not one of those people who can just put myself out there and share. I don’t even comment in Facebook groups – I’m more a lurker!

I get it. I totally do.

I use to feel that way too and I can promise you, I’ve said every one of those sentences you just read. I understand what it’s like to have an amazing business where your programs and products aren’t selling.

The thought of putting myself out there being judged and dealing with negative comments made me want to hide behind my laptop.

BUT the idea that my business would fail if I didn’t connect with my customers was more powerful than my fear of hitting that Go Live button on a Facebook. I knew something had to change for me to create more meaningful connections to reach my customers.

When you focus on results, nothing changes. When you focus on changes, you’ll see results.

At the end of last year, my frustration level hit its peak when I realized that I had ended another year making the same amount of money that I did the year before. And the year before that one.

And the year before that one.

I was slowly becoming the true definition of insanity, “doing  the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” And yes, it was literally driving me crazy!

I knew that couldn’t control the Facebook algorithm or the next feature Pinterest change that would shake up their program again. But I could make changes to myself as an entrepreneur.

I could change my behavior and the tools I was using. I could change my mindset and how I thought about connecting to my customers. I could change my fear about getting myself out there to really truly engage with my community.

So that’s what I did.

I went on a journey of change. I wanted to learn how to have a better plan to be more visible and to create more meaningful connections.

I started with small steps outside of my comfort box. I journaled about what worked, what didn’t and why I was feeling the resistance to not do something simple as being consistent with my visibility plan.

When I came out on the other side, I experienced:

• Confidence for setting a goal for myself and actually getting it done.
• I felt more efficient with my time – I developed a plan where I knew what to post, what to say and where to go.
• I accepted the fact that not everyone was going to get me. That my products were not for everyone and I’d much rather spend my valuable time connecting to the people who want to buy my programs.
• I learned not to take this stuff so serious! Being an entrepreneur is meant to be fun and it was exciting to hit that Go Live button to share what I love with my community.

The Connect to More Customers Online for 6 weeks is $37. { not $37 for each week, that’s a total of $37! }

The Connect to More Customers Online such a great investment is that it’s worth it to keep the momentum going. You’ve started the work, let’s finish the drill and end the 6 weeks stronger than where you were when you started.

Each week, you’ll continue to be challenged and you’ll have the opportunity to get feedback from the like minded business owners and bloggers in a supportive Facebook group.

The steps in The Connect to More Customers Online is 6 weeks of action-packed content, group support and accountability that will help you learn how to show up in your online space. You’ll develop meaningful connections that lead to deeper relationships and create easy sales conversations.

When you work through the actionable steps in this unique 6 week journey, you’ll not only know where and how to focus your valuable time but you’ll get connected to the right people who want to buy your products and programs.

 

If you’ve been looking for a way to make more sales from social media,

start your journey today and join us in The Connect to More Customers Online Challenge!