Every marketing professional speaks about getting to know customers and engaging them with creative, but how often do you speak with your customers to find out what they are thinking?

It seems that more people develop a customer profile and then keep using that while also relying on old focus groups. The World is changing faster and marketers need to communicate more with customers to find out what they want and how they want it.

Technology certainly makes it easier to reach out to consumers and potential consumers. There is very little reason to not have targeted campaigns for different customer segments or profiles. Virtual focus groups, hosted discussion forums, social network presence - these are all ways to tap into the consciousness of the consumers.

I talk to my customers as often as I can because it allows me to refine my budgets, my creative and my marketing to maximize the return on investment. Some of them come to us but most of them have to be approached.

When was the last time you spoke to your customers and what do you do with the feedback you receive?

Filed under: Strategy