The definition of marketing success is getting the right message in front of the right customer at the right time.

So how do we know what that message should be? How do we know what the right customer looks like? And how do we know the right channel and timing to use to place our message in their path so they notice us?

We ask our customers of course.

Your customer has thousands of messages and businesses and people and news and content that’s dropping into their brain each day and forming as their own private perspective based on their lived and learned experiences. In order for your marketing message to make an impact in their already overwhelmed brain, we need to be able to gain a better understanding of their world view and how we can position ourselves within this.

Customer research is a non-negotiable in my marketing planning process. For every marketing plan that I develop, I ensure that we have gone out and asked our customers the right question in order to the insight that we need to effectively plan our marketing.

While every business and every situation differs, there are 10 common questions that we will generally ask in every customer research project.

These help us define exactly how we get the right message to the right person at the right time. Grab a pen and paper, because if you don’t know how your customers would answer these ten questions, then I’d suggest that you plan to go out and ask them if you want your marketing to truly succeed.

 

About Jane Hillsdon

I'm a passionate award-winning marketer dedicated to helping small business owners make good decisions about their marketing.

I am the founder and CEO of a marketing agency called Dragonfly Marketing PLUS the founder of the How to do Marketing Academy.  I’m also the author of How To Do Marketing – A Comprehensive Guide For Small Business.  It's my mission to ensure that marketing is on the agenda for every regionally based small business in Australia. Why? Because I know that when marketing is done properly, it can help your business grow.

On the marketing front, I am a Certified Practicing Marketer (CPM), a member of the Australian Marketing Institute (AMI) NSW Committee and a head judge for the AMI Awards for Excellence. I was awarded the Small Budget Marketing Award at the AMI Awards for Marketing Excellence in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

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