Understanding Your Customer Needs Through Data

Summary

The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding customer needs through direct engagement and curiosity, rather than relying solely on data collection. They highlight the value of asking questions at key moments, such as on a 'thank you' page, to build trust and gather insightful feedback. The talk also addresses the challenge of creating content that resonates on social media, suggesting that success lies in adhering to platform-specific rules and fostering genuine relationships, not just amassing followers. The speaker concludes by advocating for quality over quantity in social media engagement, urging influencers to prioritize meaningful connections and actions over mere likes and shares.

Takeaways

• 🔍 Companies often overlook the importance of directly asking customers about their needs and experiences.
• 🗣️ Engaging with customers through curiosity-driven questions can provide valuable insights beyond just data analysis.
• 🛒 The post-purchase moment, such as on a 'thank you' page, is a high-trust opportunity to ask customers for feedback.
• 📊 Data should be used to inform content strategy, making it more appealing and relevant to the audience.
• 📈 Social media platforms have their own rules and best practices that content must adhere to for success.
• 📱 Viral content on social media often aligns with community expectations and rules, rather than brand-specific strategies.
• 📊 Success on social media is not solely measured by follower count but by the level of engagement and action taken by followers.
• 📈 The conversion rate from social media followers to actual customers can be surprisingly low, indicating a need for a different engagement strategy.
• 🤔 It's crucial to understand the difference between rules that drive volume and those that build strong relationships with an audience.
• 🎯 Prioritizing actions over mere engagement metrics, such as clicks and likes, can lead to more meaningful connections with an audience.

Q & A

How can companies discover their customers' needs?

Companies can discover their customers' needs by looking at available data, collecting metrics, and directly asking customers questions. It's important to maintain curiosity and not just rely on data collection, but also to engage with customers to understand their experiences and preferences.

Why is it challenging for companies to ask customers directly about their needs?

It can be challenging because companies might be hesitant to ask customers directly, fearing it could be intrusive or that it might affect the customer relationship. Additionally, companies might be overwhelmed by the process of collecting and analyzing data, leading to a reluctance to engage in direct conversations.

What is the significance of asking questions on the 'thank you' page after a purchase?

The 'thank you' page is a moment of high trust with consumers, as they have just made a purchase. This is an opportune time to ask questions because customers are more likely to be engaged and provide honest feedback about their experience.

How can companies ensure that the answers they collect from customers will influence future behavior?

Companies should have a clear plan on how to use the customer feedback they collect. This includes understanding what questions to ask, how the answers will be analyzed, and how the insights will be used to improve products, services, or customer interactions.

What role does social media play in understanding customer preferences?

Social media provides a platform with rules for conversation and feedback mechanisms, allowing companies to see what types of content resonate with different communities. It's essential to conform to the rules and best practices of each social media platform to create attractive content.

Why might a company's social media success not translate into sales?

A company might have a large following on social media but fail to convert followers into customers because the content that attracts likes and shares may not necessarily align with the content that drives sales. The rules for viral content on social media can be different from the rules for building long-term customer relationships.

What is the difference between focusing on quantity and quality when it comes to social media followers?

Focusing on quantity means aiming for a large number of followers, which social media often rewards. However, focusing on quality involves engaging with followers who are more likely to take action, such as buying products or engaging in meaningful conversations, which is more valuable for a company's long-term success.

How can a company measure the effectiveness of its social media strategy?

A company can measure the effectiveness of its social media strategy by looking at actions taken by followers, such as purchases, website visits, and engagement with content. This is more indicative of a successful strategy than just counting the number of followers or likes.

What is the importance of understanding the different rules for engagement on various social media platforms?

Understanding the different rules for engagement is crucial because what works on one platform may not work on another. Each platform has its own community norms and expectations, and success on social media often depends on aligning with these rules to create content that resonates with the audience.

Why is it beneficial for a company to prioritize actions over mere engagement on social media?

Prioritizing actions over engagement is beneficial because actions, such as purchases or website visits, lead to tangible results and revenue for the company. While likes and shares are important for visibility, they do not necessarily translate into business success without resulting in concrete actions from the followers.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Discovering Customer Needs Through Curiosity

The speaker emphasizes the importance of curiosity in understanding customer needs. Instead of solely relying on available data, companies should actively engage with customers to ask questions and gather insights. This approach can be as simple as asking customers about their experience on a 'thank you' page after a purchase, which is a moment of high trust. The speaker suggests that asking the right questions can lead to new opportunities that might otherwise be missed. The discussion also touches on the importance of knowing how to use customer feedback to influence future actions and decisions.

Keywords

💡Customer Needs

Customer needs refer to the specific requirements or desires that customers have, which companies aim to fulfill through their products or services. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding these needs by asking direct questions to customers, such as 'how did you get to our site' or 'what do you think of my products.' This approach is contrasted with relying solely on data collection, suggesting a more interactive and curious method to truly understand customer needs.

💡Data Collection

Data collection is the process of gathering information from various sources to analyze and make informed decisions. The script mentions that companies often look at available data metrics but may miss the opportunity to directly ask customers about their experiences and preferences. The speaker suggests that while data is valuable, it should be complemented with direct customer engagement to gain a deeper understanding.

💡Curiosity

Curiosity, in the context of the video, is the drive to ask questions and seek new information. The speaker encourages businesses to be curious and to ask customers more questions to uncover their needs and preferences. This is illustrated by the idea of asking questions on a 'thank you' page after a transaction, when trust is high, and customers may be more open to sharing their thoughts.

💡Social Media

Social media is a platform for social interaction and communication using the internet. The video discusses how social media provides rules for conversation and feedback mechanisms, which can be used to understand what content is attractive to audiences. The speaker suggests that success on social media is about conforming to the platform's rules and best practices, rather than focusing solely on one's own brand ambitions.

💡Viral Content

Viral content refers to material that spreads rapidly and widely on the internet, often gaining significant attention and engagement. In the script, the speaker explains that viral content is typically that which adheres to the community's rules and expectations on a particular social media platform. The example of Electronic Arts' display ads is used to show that what goes viral may not necessarily align with what brings value to a business.

💡Influencers

Influencers are individuals who have the power to affect the purchasing decisions of their audience through their social media presence. The video script discusses the challenge that influencers face when they have a large following but low conversion rates on their promotions. The speaker argues that the focus should be on the quality of engagement, not just the quantity of followers.

💡Conversion Rate

Conversion rate is the percentage of users who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter. The script uses the example of an influencer with many followers but a low conversion rate when promoting a product, highlighting the discrepancy between having a large audience and effectively converting that audience into actionable results.

💡Actionable Engagement

Actionable engagement refers to the type of interaction that leads to measurable and beneficial outcomes for a business, such as sales or leads. The video emphasizes the importance of focusing on engagement that results in action, rather than just likes or shares, as a measure of success on social media and in marketing efforts.

💡Rules of Community

The rules of community, as mentioned in the video, are the unwritten guidelines or best practices that govern what type of content is successful within a particular social media platform or community. The speaker suggests that understanding and adhering to these rules is key to creating content that resonates with the audience and achieves the desired outcomes.

💡Brand Ambitions

Brand ambitions are the goals and aspirations that a company has for its brand, such as building a strong reputation or increasing market share. The video script suggests that while brand ambitions are important, they should not override the need to comply with the rules and expectations of the social media platforms and communities where the brand is engaging with its audience.

💡Value Exchange

Value exchange in the context of the video refers to the mutual benefit that occurs when a customer purchases a product or service from a company. The speaker uses this concept to argue that having a large following is not as important as having followers who are willing to engage in a value exchange, such as buying a product, which indicates a stronger and more meaningful connection.

Highlights

The importance of discovering customer needs through data collection and direct customer inquiries.

The idea that companies often overlook the value of asking customers direct questions about their experiences and preferences.

The concept that curiosity in asking questions can lead to new business opportunities.

The suggestion to ask customers questions on high-trust pages, such as thank you pages, to gain valuable insights.

The need for companies to know how to use customer feedback to inform future actions and behaviors.

The role of social media in providing rules for conversation and feedback mechanisms.

The observation that successful social media content often conforms to the platform's community rules and best practices.

The challenge of achieving high conversion rates despite having a large social media following.

The argument that social media often rewards quantity over quality in terms of engagement.

The importance of focusing on the quality of followers who take action rather than just the quantity of followers.

The Electronic Arts case study illustrating the difference between ads that attract volume and those that lead to profitable customer actions.

The distinction between metrics that measure social media engagement and those that measure meaningful customer actions.

The advice to prioritize understanding the needs and actions of customers who support a brand over those who merely engage.

The conclusion that true social media success is measured by the actions of followers, not just their engagement.

The final point emphasizing the value of finding a balance between social media followers and actual customer conversions.

Transcripts

how we can discover what the needs of

our customers are people look at data

collections what do we have available do

we have this metric do we have this data

removing themselves from the possibility

that they can ask customers we want to

ask our customers more things how did

you get to our site what do you think

the difficulty of companies doing that

is just incredible and what happens is

that Curiosity dies no ask more

questions be curious rotate those

questions it doesn't have to be part of

a large survey if you want to know when

to ask questions ask it on the thank you

page turns out the height of trust with

most consumers is after they give you

money as we do with experiments know

what you're going to do with that answer

know how those answers are going to

change your future Behavior so just go

out what do you think of my ads what do

you think of my products no you want to

go skiing sometimes why are we going

skiing no I was just asking that's a

ridiculous question good question how

much are you spending with other

competitors what was a feature that

really brought you here how long did you

think about these products all those

things enable that type of curiosity go

forward and give you new opportunities

that you might otherwise Miss how can I

use data to make content more attractive

to my audience here's kind of the way

that I approach it social media is

attractive because it gives us rules for

conversation and it gives us feedback on

it you and I have a conversation and

there's no feedback mechanism I don't

know how I did and social media

overcomes that by raiding your

conversation if you do well they promote

it you get more likes people are saying

do you comply with the rules of the

community what's successful on Twitter

will not be successful on LinkedIn and

so when I look at success of social

media from that lens I say really what

it is is to discover to say how closely

can you conform to the rules and best

practices of that particular group and

when people are looking at viral content

that's like something that conform to

all the rules of what the community

expects how do I become more successful

on social media it's really saying well

how closely can you comply with the

rules that they put out prioritizing

them over your own Brands and Ambitions

like the way you present yourself the

way you present your products the way

you write copy all have to comply with

it and I don't really think that that's

an interesting problem to solve say you

have you know 20 30 million followers

and then wrote a book only about 15 000

of their followers actually bought a

copy of the book despite all their

promotions and you send out an email and

nobody replies and nobody buys your

product how do you feel do you feel

great because you sent out a million

emails or do you feel kind of terrible

because you have a million emails and

nobody cares about the message you're

sending these articles come up every now

and then where you have these

influencers with all these followers and

then nobody takes action on what you

said oftentimes social media rewards

people with quantity more than quality

and I think that it's a rough proxy and

I think we get distracted by but my

challenge would be I look at the success

on social media as I do with any other

channel what a lot of people find and

this is a discouraging part about social

media is that they find out when they do

put out these requests to say hey I have

50 000 followers I said buy this thing

listen to this thing and they get such a

low conversion rate over it and I say

and I was like well that's kind of I

look at all these people and nobody's

interacting and nobody actually bought

the thing I put out there and it says

that's fine but I say what that does is

that reveals that there's a different

set of rules there's one set of rules

for volume and activity there's another

set of rules for good relationships and

those rules are a little bit harder to

discover but I say that's the game you

actually want to play so if I'm in the

influencer game I don't care how many

people follow me I care how many people

act and so that's why I prioritize I say

what you want to do is learn about as

many people who take action who click on

something who go to a website ask them

questions about why they did and then

figure out what content relates to them

I'll give you one quick example on it

there's a case study of Electronic Arts

a video game company where they put out

16 different display ads for promoting a

mobile game and the one that brought the

most downloads the most volume was the

one that was least attractive to the

people that would actually spend money

in the game and I say the same with

social medias if you look at say what's

impactful for likes or retweets or

anything whatever metric you're looking

at it's likely going to be different

from the people that are going to

support your Enterprise that are going

to spend buy and want to be connected

and relatable to your brand if you put

out a message if you put out a request

do people respond to that more than just

arbitrary buttons to say they're they're

engaging with it and so I always look at

that connection to say it's not simply

the volume and how many people raise

their hand it's how many people are

willing to follow you in the next step

and that I look at a success because you

need somebody to take action buy

something as opposed to clicking a

little button to share but I think that

they're all that more important for

anybody that's pursuing that channel if

you have 800 000 followers and you put

out a message and say I have a new

product and they buy your product and

there's that exchange of value then I

say you found the Best of Both Worlds

that's the end of my TED Talk there

social media

[Laughter]