Consumer marketing insights used to be hard-won and took a long time to amass with much accuracy. That is no longer the case, even for businesses that do most of their transactions offline. Analytics abound, so there is really no excuse for not getting to know your consumers.
Massive quantities of data are collected all the time. Why not put some of it to work for your business?
This is not to say that there is no work or initiative involved in finding consumer marketing insights. It is considerably easier than it was even a few years ago. Whichever analytics you end up using, getting the most from them requires that you start with the basics.
Building Blocks of Excellent Consumer Marketing Insights
Assessing consumer engagement through a variety of methods including live chat, surveys, and even individual phone calls is a tried and true way of learning how well you are engaging your consumer base. It also helps you develop the strongest, most accurate buyer personas, which are immensely valuable when planning your marketing strategy.
Your analytics package can help you delve deeper into your success with consumer engagement because behavior tracking is now incorporated into many analytics programs. Not only must you anticipate and plan where consumers will go in terms of sentiment, you must put yourself in their shoes and see things from their point of view. What is it like to place an order from your company? How responsive are service reps when you have questions? Learn first-hand by walking the consumer journey yourself.
Start with Good Questions
Asking the right questions is the key to unlocking consumer marketing insights that make a difference. What do consumers care about, and how do they perceive your business? What content types do they prefer? What is a typical journey to purchase like, complete with detours and backtracks? These are not always easy questions to ask. What if consumers do not perceive your business in a positive light? It is important because planning the best strategy requires knowing the facts.
Understanding What Motivates Consumers
You must also bear in mind the factors that motivate consumers most significantly, such as:
- Personal gain – “What’s in this for me?”
- Delight – “Oh my. I had no idea such a solution existed!”
- Social influence – “A colleague whom I respect greatly likes this product. Maybe I should look into it too.”
- The word “you” – “It feels like this company ‘gets’ me!”
- Familiarity and trust – “Looks like they take security and privacy seriously, and their product has thousands of reviews. They seem trustworthy.”
Know what motivates consumers so you can help shape their journey.
Different motivators prevail at different stages of the conversion funnel, but all are important, and you should pay attention to all of them to derive the most accurate consumer marketing insights.
Most Important of Consumer Marketing Insights: LTV
Which consumers generate the greatest lifetime value (LTV) to your business? This is the revenue that someone generates for your company for the duration of your relationship with them. It requires that you take the long view, and sometimes it means giving up short-term results for greater long-term results.
Estimating LTV requires averaging variables like “expenditure per visit,” and the number of visits during a given time frame. This allows you to calculate average consumer value per time period. You can then calculate LTV based on the typical “consumer lifespan” with your company.
There are multiple ways to estimate LTV, and you must choose the one that is most relevant to your sector and your consumer profile. But knowing this for top audience personas allows you to focus efforts on those who are likeliest to provide the highest LTV. And sometimes, these are not the same consumers who spend a lot up front on a one-off basis.
Using Your Insights to Make Packaging Choices
Knowing your consumers and taking the time to develop consumer marketing insights based on behavior helps you operate more efficiently. You will spend less time chasing those who offer less in the way of LTV and you can concentrate on consumers who are likeliest to become strong brand ambassadors.
Once you have identified your most valuable customers, your packaging designs should reflect what you have learned about them. For instance, are your customers intensely interested in organic products? If so, your packaging should clearly state your product's organic properties. Do your customers have a certain lifestyle? For instance, if your customers are appreciative of luxury, your packaging design should both look and feel luxurious.
Gaining customer insight enables you to market your products more effectively, both through packaging design choice and marketing content. Brands that truly listen to what their customers are saying both through reviews and behaviors will edge out their competitors in the tight CPG marketplace.
Hangar12 is at the forefront of CPG marketing strategy and more. Subscribe to our blog to stay up to date with our latest insights!
