If you’re in any line of business or planning to launch into entrepreneurship, you should already be aware of the fact that your number one concern is customers’ needs. You can’t be successful if you can’t identify your audience’s needs and wants (even those they’re not aware of yet). 

A product that doesn’t respond to a customer’s need or doesn’t solve a problem, is not viable on the market. Moreover, you also need to pay attention to your competitors since your product must find better ways to solve a customer’s problem in order to make them waver and switch providers. 

But how you learn about these needs is a totally different matter. Nowadays it’s both easy and difficult to understand your audience, therefore the best method of all is trial and error. Still, it helps to have a few well-established methods that help you gather real-time data. Therefore, we will have a look at the top three methods marketers use to gather data and facts from various resources.  

#1: Gather Data from Social Media

Social media platforms are a godsend for data-oriented marketers because people use them to share their likes and dislikes all the time. Besides, people post about their plans, wishes, complaints, and more.

So, to learn about a specific audience’s preferences, all one needs to do is observe and learn. However, the sheer volume of data on a single day is overwhelming, which is why it’s easy to get confused and lost while looking for gaps in client satisfaction or needs your product could fulfill.  

Luckily, there are tools such as Social Media CRM platforms, that can help you collect and process this type of data. Moreover, these platforms are adept in tracking online behavior, in order to better understand one’s customers.  

#2: Use Your Own Channels

Your company website, social media channels, and blog are the ideal platforms to gather more accurate information. Since you are the one administering these channels, you get to decide how the data will be collected and how to use it. 

For instance, with your website and blog, you can customize the Analytics software behind both platforms in order to track specific behaviors and patterns. In addition, you can set comment sections and satisfaction forms where customers can express their opinion. Still, there’s a catch:  if you’re asking for customer’s opinions but don’t use their feedback to improve your product, you’ll come off as shallow and disinterested. 

#3: Create Valuable Content

Additional channels like social media or blogs are amazing when it comes to attracting new leads. However, in order to get blog visitors to buy your product, you must learn how to create valuable content. 

For instance, you can take the feedback received via comments and reviews and create content to address those issues. This way, you show customers you care about their opinions and actively work to include their feedback into your product. It’s also a way to keep the communication lines open as more customers will be interested in sharing their problems with you if they see you care. 

Wrap Up

The unbelievable diversity of the online world is baffling for most of us, but with the right tools and a bit of patience, we can use it to our advantage. One thing is sure – people like to talk about themselves a lot! So, a smart marketer will know how to use this information to create better products.