One of the main drivers of success is an acute understanding of what people want. Put simply, knowledge is power when it comes to sales. Give people what they want at a price they like, and you’ll make money. That, of course, is easier said than done.
Data on things such as consumer trends and internet searches are abundant these days, but that doesn’t mean you’ll always get it right in terms of selling things people want to buy. An effective way to improve your understanding of what people want is to follow this three-step process:
1. Awareness
People need to be aware of what you’re selling just as much as you need to know what they want. In this regard, you’re following the Steve Jobs strategy. He said that “people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” Your job is to show them what you do and, in turn, why it could appeal to them.
Online gambling companies use this strategy at the same time as countering any trepidation that comes with unfamiliar industry terminology that is unfamiliar to new players. Savvy operators do this by creating guides and glossaries that explain how games with prizes work. A simple blog post covering gambling terms such as bet, reels and RTP gives people a better appreciation of slot games.
When people are informed, they’re confident and, when people are confident, they’re more likely to engage. So, what you’re doing by educating people is guiding them. Ultimately, they still need to want what you’re selling. However, with the right information, they may be drawn to your products.
2. Data
Numbers don’t lie and, in business, the right statistics can help you make better decisions. We won’t get into the specifics of how to analyse statistical data. Instead, we’ll focus on the various ways you can collect information about your business and your customers.
One simple but effective way to determine what customers want is to ask them. Online surveys and emails might be a bit old-school these days, but they can still give you plenty of data to analyse. For those who don’t want to collect data manually, the following programs and products will collate statistics for you:
- Google Analytics
- Social media engagement (likes, comments and shares + analytics panels in your accounts)
- Transactional tracking i.e. data gleaned from purchases
- Cookies and website data (accessible through your web platform e.g. WordPress)
These are just some of the ways you can collect data from customers who use your website and social media channels. This data will give you a better understanding of what customers want and, in turn, their behavioural patterns.
3. Test and Retest
Once you’ve guided consumers towards specific products and collected some data, you need to analyse it. The insights from your analysis can be used to double down on things that appear to be working, remove things that aren’t and, perhaps most importantly, test new ideas.
Understanding your customers is as much about giving them things they want as predicting what they might want in the future. You can only do this once you’ve got a baseline. Get that and you’ll not only understand your customers now but moving forward into the future.
