Getting Customer Demographics the Old-Fashioned Way

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Social Media For Market Research

This morning I read an article on Marketing Profs about how to conduct research on a budget and one of the strongest points the author made was about understanding your customers by surveying them. But, I think gathering and synthesizing demographics can be taken a step further and done in less obvious and certainly more interesting ways.

Discussion Boards

Facebook has a great app called “Discussions” that you can use as a forum for your fans. Whether you use this one, or go a step further and add one to your company’s website, a discussion board can not only be used to start conversations but to establish yourself as experts in your field.

We went the Facebook route and turned our Discussions into a Q&A Forum where the entire community [not just us] can answer questions. By giving web developer advice without the web developer price [I came up with that little slogan] we can see what elements of web strategy is frustrating our customers, gather great topics for video blogs, AND show that we know our stuff by answering their questions in a timely fashion!

Facebook Questions

Yep, Facebook again, but I can’t tell you how excited I am about their latest feature: Facebook Questions. Though originally designed with the personal account user in mind, this surveying application happens to be perfect for businesses seeking new ways to connect with their customers. Just look at the app motto: “Get answers from the people you trust.” Isn’t that the goal of inbound marketing? To engage your audience in a way that shows you can be trusted?

What Should You Ask?

It really depends on your brand and company personality. If you sell shoes, sure you’ll want to know what types of shoes your fans like the most, maybe how much they typically spend on shoe purchases in a year, but wouldn’t it be more compelling to ask them something like:

  • “Where is your favorite place to go for a walk?” or . . .
  • “What other continents have your shoes stepped on?”

Ask for specifics eventually, but warm them up with a fun question still related to your industry first! You’ll get to know your customers better and they’ll see your business as something more than a company trying to sell them a product.

Your Turn

If you already have a Facebook Page for your business, try out the new Facebook Questions feature and ask your audience a “fun” question related to your industry! Click the “Questions” tab above the comment box on your wall to get started.

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