7&Under: Customer Questions to ask at 3 Months

It seems like there’s ALWAYS advice for start-up newbies. Well, for once, this one’s for you Ms. (or Mr.) 3 month “what’s going on with my customers?!” business owner. Below are some questions to help you build your customer base.

1.  Who are my customers? Describe this person in full detail. Who is this person? What do they enjoy? Are they early or late risers? Do they like a little cream and sugar in their coffee or straight black? What point are they at in life? Are they just starting their first job or the first mortgage payment? Developing a better understanding of who you’re serving will in turn help you serve them better. Ex: Send your late riser customer an email at 9pm, when they finally have a chance to read and include tips on how to unwind.

2. What are my customer’s expectations and how do I go above and beyond? What pains – whether time, money, or energy – does my business solve for others? All profitable business provide customers some sort of benefit – what’s yours? How do you own this service/product over competitors? Understanding why your customers choose your business may shed light on new benefits or strengthen what you already know.

3. What communication protocols have I developed to create uniformed and consistent messages to my customers? Yes, creating tailored information to address each customer is great. But this is when the difference of WHAT you say and HOW you say it comes into play.  If you want to establish better relationships with your customers, you must develop consistent communication schedules to remind them that you’re there. This is NOT an excuse to email blast every week – but schedule reoccurring service/product purchase follow-ups and keep your primary business objectives in mind.

4. What do my customers view as my biggest strength? Weaknesses? Survey and interview your current customers. If you’re concerned about how these interactions may affect your relationships with customers, try hiring an external company to reduce worries. Understanding how your customers view your business will provide you with more ideas how you can improve your “perfect” business – or help create a hierarchy of weaknesses and strengths.

5. What are the biggest strengths and weaknesses of my customers? Be aware that sometimes the problem IS your customers, not [just] you. Write out their weaknesses and brainstorm how you can appease these weaknesses. How might tailor you your service/product to better address these weaknesses? Ask yourself how you might you tweak your service/produce to play-up the strengths noted by customers? If you’ve covered these customer demands, it may be time to fire – yes, DROP – your current customerse and apply more focus on new potential customers.

6. Who is my ideal customer? Describe this person in full detail. Ask yourself how this customer is “ideal” – and go beyond just how many times their VISA appears on your invoices. How does this customer make YOUR life easier? How does this customer add value to your business? Now, start imagining this customer a real person. What does he/she do for enjoyment? Read? Where does he/she shop? Dine?

7. How do I make my ideal customer a current customer? Time to crossbreed. Building off your customer profiles, where are there crossovers? How might you attract more current customer who might also be your ideal customer? Do they shop at the same stores? Read the same magazines? Are they both into golf? How might you place your advertising efforts in these shared spaces to attract more of the ideal customer? Keep in mind, that as much your customers choose you – you can also choose (or target) them.

Tags: 7&Under; customer questions, business strategies