“Get to Know Your Customers Day” sounds like one of those silly made-up “holidays.” And in some aspects, it is. But so are all other holidays. They were all made up at some point, but because they were so meaningful in people’s lives they became “important” holidays.
As far as business goes, “Get to Know Your Customers Day” is as important a “holiday” as they come. Observed on the third Thursday of every quarter, it’s a great reminder to take some time to connect with our customers and learn more about what they want and need from you.
By understanding our customers better, we can improve our products, interactions, and every aspect of our businesses to provide better experiences for our clients.
As we get more familiar with customers’ needs, wants, and preferences, we can create personalized experiences that keep them coming back for more.
When we take the time to get to know our customers, we build trust and loyalty. We show them that we care about their experience and are willing to go the extra mile (or kilometre) to meet their needs. At the same time we build their trust and loyalty..
You can make “Get to Know Your Customers Day” a fun and rewarding experience for both you and your customers. It’s a chance to show your appreciation for them, to show that you are truly invested in their success and learn more about the people who make your business possible. It is also an incredible opportunity to fine tune your business to make it the best possible experience for your customers.
So, whether you’re a small business owner or part of a larger organization, “Get to Know Your Customers Day” is a great opportunity to connect with your audience. In the following sections, we’ll explore some of the ways you can do that. Let’s go!
Please note this article contains affiliate links which means I may earn a small commission (at no additional cost to you) if you purchase through these links. I only recommend products I know, love and use.
How to Celebrate “Get to Know Your Customers Day”
There are so many ways any business can get to know their customers better. Pick one or two ways to get to know your customers better each quarter. Then, don’t forget to apply that knowledge to improve your customer’s experience.
Here is a list of possible ways you can do that. I have divided the list into two sections: Interact with Your Customers and Indirect Observations. Please add more ideas in the comments.
Interact with Your Customers
Create a customer survey
Conducting a survey can help you gather valuable feedback and insights from your customers. Use the information you gather to improve your products, services, and customer experience.
Add a few fun surprises throughout the survey add a couple of quirky/fun choices to your multiple choice questions or have some fun with how you ask the questions. Definitely ask serious questions, but ask in a more light-hearted way.
Besides making the experience more fun, you can also make it more enticing for your customers,
- Give a gift/discount to everyone who fills out the survey,
- Have a draw – give a prize to one of the people who fill out the survey,
- List the suggestions from the survey and have people vote on to choose the top three to be implemented first.
Ask for feedback on social media
Encourage your customers to share their thoughts and feedback on social media. Use their responses to start a conversation and engage with your customers.
You can ask them to select from a specific number of choices. For that you can use posts such as polls, “this or that”, “you can only keep one” and more. Add a custom branded GIF for even more impact.
For slightly more complex responses you can ask them to respond to fun, engagement type posts, or more serious questions.
Not only does this give you the information you need, but it also makes your audience felt heard and it increases engagement.
Host a virtual focus group
A virtual focus group can help you gather feedback and insights from your customers. Use the information you gather to improve your products, services, and customer experience. Call it a coffee chat or a cocktail hour or whatever fits your brand. Under no circumstances should you try to make this into a sales opportunity. It is simply to gather information and to get to know each other better.
Make sure that you have some of your important questions decided ahead of time. Also, be sure to reward your participants for their time, especially if the call is not giving them anything specific in return.
Host a social media contest
Create a social media contest that encourages customers to share their experience with your business. You could ask them to share photos, videos or stories, and offer prizes to the winners.
Viral Giveaways
Host a viral giveaway asking people for feedback at the same time as having them share your resource or page for a chance to win prizes. Viral giveaways are great in general, adding a section asking them for what they most want is a bonus. A perfect bonus for “Get to Know Your Customers” Day.
Use tools such as KingSumo (one time fee) or Perkzilla (monthly fee/lifetime deal)
Free Sample
Provide a “free sample” of a new or existing product to customers who have bought a different product. Ask for feedback. Specifically ask for what they most enjoyed and what they would change. People tend to want to please you, so if you don’t specifically ask what they would change you might just get “nice” responses that won’t help you improve your product and experience.
Give your customers a chance to get on a quick call with you (not a sales call) where they can present a single problem that you will help them with specifically. Take careful notes on that call and use what they need help with to create better products to serve their needs.
Ask in an email
Send an email asking your customers to reply with a quick answer to a niche related:
- Greatest current need
- One thing that would make their lives easiest right now
- What they wish existed that doesn’t yet
To make this even easier for your customers and for a simple multiple choice questions, you can ask the question in an email and have a link or button for your customer to click to choose their answer.
Shadow a Customer
Create a video where you follow customers (with their prior permisssion) throughout their day to see how they use your products or services and get a better understanding of their needs. If you are not physically close to them, ask them to record themselves throughout the day and analyze that information.
This will really encroach on their time. Make sure you reward any customers who do this well.
Customer Advisory Panel
Create a customer advisory panel where customers can sign up to provide ongoing feedback and insights into your business.
Again, reward them well for this extra effort project.
Customer Innovation Lab
Create a customer innovation lab where customers can work with your team to co-create new solutions and products and troubleshoot their experience.
This will give you great insights, tailor your products to your actual customers and make your customers feel seen and heard.
Live Chat
Use live chat or messaging platforms to engage with customers in real-time and gather feedback and insights. Customer support may be the single best way to learn about your customers and how they interact with your products.
Don’t just help each customer with their issue, use ever chat as an opportunity to learn more about what you customers need or want or how they naturally interact with you products.
Customer Treasure Hunt
Organize a “customer treasure hunt” where customers can visit different pages on your website or complete tasks related to your brand to earn prizes and provide feedback.
Innovation Contest
Host a contest! Ask customers to submit their own ideas for new products, services, improvements or solutions related to your business. This will give you amazing insights into what your customers need, will tailor the product to the customer and you can spotlight your customer at the same time.
Customer Interviews/Spotlights
Hold customer interviews for your blog, podcast or video channel, showcasing your customers and asking them for valuable feedback. During the interview ask them what about your product they love the most and what they would improve if they could.
Create a Special Personalized Offer
Offer personalized options for your most engaged customers. Spend extra time with them to tailor your product to their specific needs. Use some of those ideas to improve the product overall.
Indirect Observations
Dig into the Archives
Comb through customer emails, customer tickets and other customer service interactions to dig deep into what your customers really need and want from you. Consider how you can improve your products, interactions, customer interface and all aspects of your business.
Take a closer look at your analytics
Sales reports, social media, email open rates and click through, and anywhere else you can get insights and analytics on what is really resonating with your customers. Then come up with innovative ways to make things better for your customers.
Hold a virtual games event
Have a trivia or game show event where customers can have fun answering a combination of fun questions and questions that give you insight into their needs and desires. I use CrowdParty so that my audience has a fun, game-show-like experience..
Use a heat map software
Get the full picture of where and how people are using your website and sales pages using heat map software like HotJar. Rearrange elements and the user experience based on the data you get.
Investigate Your Customers’ Needs
Hang out on social media and read about what your customers really need and want. Don’t just skim their posts, but really dig deep and try to read between the lines.
Action steps for “Getting to Know Your Customers Day”
So, whether you’re a small business owner or a marketer at a large corporation, there’s no better time to prioritize your customers than Get to Know Your Customers Day.
“Getting to Know Your Customers Day” is celebrated on the third Thursday of each quarter. So come back every quarter and pick one activity to help you make the most of this day and build stronger relationships with your customers.
