022 - Unveiling Profound eCommerce Insights: Customer Survey Secrets

Welcome, e-commerce empresses, to another episode of Women Powering E-Commerce. Every Tuesday and Thursday, join me as we venture into the world of female e-commerce entrepreneurship. In today's discussion, we'll explore a pivotal turning point in our journey, one that unveiled the true desires of our valued customers. Are you ready to dive into the world of customer surveys? Let's embark on this enlightening journey together.

In the vast landscape of e-commerce, the challenge of identifying the next significant stride forward can be both exhilarating and daunting. A few months back, we found ourselves standing at this crossroads. Amidst countless possibilities, we recognized the need for direction. The question echoed: "What lies ahead? What resonates with our aspirations and our customers' needs?"

Decoding Customer Insights: A New Perspective

As we huddled with our dedicated team members, brainstorming the path to undertake, we stumbled upon an intriguing notion. Despite the years spent nurturing our business, we realized that we had never embarked on a profound journey: surveying our customers. A profound survey that uncovers their thoughts, desires, and pain points, allowing us to comprehend them on a deeper level.

The Power of the Deep Dive Survey

Previously, we had introduced surveys like post-purchase inquiries and the Net Promoter Score (NPS) assessment. However, a more profound understanding was sought—a comprehensive study that resonated with the souls of our most loyal customers. These invaluable patrons, those who returned time and again, whether in bulk or in fervor, were coined our VIP customers.

Hence, the 'Deep Dive Survey' was born—a voyage into their minds, aspirations, and challenges. What followed were revelations that would reshape our business strategies, enhancing our understanding of the diverse personas that comprised our clientele.

Unveiling the Surprises: A Glimpse Into Our Customers' World

Our inquisition embarked on a profound journey, beginning with the foundations of our customer's worlds. To understand their pet-parent pains, we posed a question that resonated with their very essence: "What's your single biggest challenge as a pet parent?" This single query illuminated their struggles, guiding us toward the solutions they fervently sought.

Venturing further into their persona, we explored their alignment with 'all things natural.' An astonishing revelation unfolded—our customers, the heroes of our narrative, predominantly resonated with the 'natural' persona. This paradigm shift ignited our approach, fostering a renewed connection and paving the way for innovative ideas to cater to their inclinations.

Numbers That Spoke Volumes: Unveiling True Dedication

The intricacies of their lives emerged through demographics—a complex yet rewarding exploration. We discovered their dedication to their beloved pets' well-being—over 35% had invested more than a thousand dollars in their pets' health in the last six months alone. This unwavering commitment fueled a reimagining of our products and strategies. Their pets' health became the cornerstone of our efforts, prompting us to ensure the quality of our offerings exceeded their expectations.

Understanding the Path of Purchase: An Enlightening Quest

"Why us?" A question we posed with eager anticipation. The answers guided us through their thought processes, shedding light on the factors that influenced their decisions. The shadows of hesitation were unveiled through their objections and doubts before completing a purchase. Armed with this knowledge, we can now proactively address these concerns, paving the way for smoother transactions.

Their repeat purchases or their decision to hold back after a single order spoke volumes. Insights into these journeys empowered us to refine our strategies, facilitating customer loyalty and encouraging repeat business.

Empowering Progress Through Customer Needs

Amidst the survey, we explored the invaluable dimensions of their experience—how our products alleviated their pets' woes. Not only did we uncover anticipated responses, but also precious insights that illuminated the paths less traveled. As their confidants, we embarked on an expedition to develop products that resonated with their profound needs, underlining our commitment to their pets' well-being.

A Glimpse at the Competition: A Quest for Excellence

The exploration delved further—discovering which competitors existed in their minds. A landscape of rival brands unveiled itself, each vying for their attention. The revelations emboldened us to refine our strategies, understand the broader spectrum of competition, and tailor our approach accordingly.

Understanding the Path of Purchase: An Enlightening Quest

Conclusion

And so, dear readers, we leave you with this enlightening tale—a story of how a deep dive into the hearts and minds of our cherished customers unveiled a world of opportunities and insights. As we continue our journey, we invite you to embark on your own quest to understand your customers—the true architects of your success. Remember, the path to e-commerce eminence is paved with the wisdom of those who journey alongside you.

Thank you for joining us in today's exploration. Together, let's continue to empower ourselves, learn, and grow, building businesses that resonate with the souls of our customers. Follow us on social media and your preferred podcast platform for more enlightening discussions. Until we meet again, thrive, and keep embracing the power of knowledge and customer connection.

Episode Transcription

022 - Unveiling Profound eCommerce Insights: Customer Survey Secrets

(00:00):

Welcome, e-commerce empresses, to this episode of Women Powering e-Commerce. Join me every Tuesday and Thursday as I take you behind the scenes of my journey as a female e-commerce entrepreneur. Together, we'll explore the highs, the lows, inspiring you to take action and achieve your own business goals. So let's get started.

(00:32):

All right. So I want to talk to you today about something. A question that came up in that constantly comes up every few months or so is, "Okay, what do we do next? What's our next big project with the company? What goals did we set ourselves?" And we were kind of that point not so long ago. A few months ago, I sat with some of our team members, and we were trying to brainstorm on the next few things, next things that needed the most work on. And the struggle was this one, we just had so many options. We didn't know which direction to take. It's so easy to go in all kinds of directions. So we realized something, we had never surveyed our customers. When I say surveyed our customers, I mean like a deep survey, very a detailed one, asking a lot of questions just to understand them better.

(01:33):

And that's what I want to talk about today. Surveying your customers. We currently have some surveys, like a post-purchase survey asking them how their experience on the website was, how they found us, things like that. We have an NPS score survey that we send after a couple weeks or months, I don't remember or recall the exact time, but we've never really deep-dived into what do our most or top customers really want. And I'd say it's usually recommended to do a product market fit survey and the beginning of when you start your business. But we saw a lot of potential in doing it today, 10 years after we actually launched our business. And the reason for that as well is our customers change. Yes, we have our avatar, our persona, but we feel like they might change. We change as business owners, we learn new things and the industry changes, and we need answers.

(02:40):

We wanted to make sure that whatever we decided to do next, we did something for our customers, not just something we thought or wanted for ourselves. So what we did is, we decided to interview our top customers. So when I say top customers, I mean repeat customers, loyal customers, the ones that, even if they ordered once, they placed a big order. So whoever had the highest AOV, et cetera, and we kind of grabbed all of those customers and called them our VIP customers. And we sent out a survey, which we called the deep dive survey. So I thought I'd share that with you today, what we asked them, and also the value we got from asking those questions, which I think could be valuable for you. So yes, we'll share the questions. I want to share that.

(03:38):

But also, what I learned, there are some questions that actually really surprised me. There were some surprises, things I did not think would be the results. So let's start with that. Okay, so target market questions. So first questions we asked, what's your single biggest challenge as a pet parent right now? Pet parent. Because yes, we're in the pet industry. We wanted to make sure we understood their pains. That's definitely why they come to you. They want a solution to their pain points. We wanted to get that out of... not out of the way. That's what we wanted to know first. And we also asked them just to understand our persona a little bit better of, who buys from us? Who are our top VIP customers? So how do they describe themselves? So we asked a few questions, like, "Are you a cat parent? Are you a dog parent? Do you have both?"

(04:34):

We also ask them, "Are you into all things natural?" Because we're not only in the pet industry, but we have natural products and remedies for pets. So did you come to us because you're all into all things natural, or is it because you're just open to other alternatives and you just want to give whatever you can to your pet to make him feel better? And I thought it was about half and half because we had two avatars that described kind of both of them. One was just like this, all-natural person into organic CBD coffee or name it. And the other one was just this lady who did conventional medicine but tried all those herbal remedies at the same time, and she just gave it all. So we thought that was our biggest avatar. Well, half and half, I would say.

(05:29):

But no, we were surprised. They were by a majority. They saw themselves and described themselves as people that liked all things natural. That was surprise number one. So what that did? With that piece of information, we decided to take on several actions. Our messaging changed a little bit. The way we approach our customers changed a bit. So yes, it made a difference that really lightened up some things for us and it really gave us new ideas. So that was really constructive, and we really appreciated knowing that. Then we went into demographics. So age, marital status, employment, job title, yearly income. Yes, we went all to that extent. And we got all kinds of stats that were actually very interesting in that we learned a lot from. So other things we asked, "How much money and have you spent for your pet's health in the last six months?"

(06:32):

And that was also very surprising answer. We knew that the customers that came to us, they love their pets. A lot of them, they call them their best friends. They love them almost, I feel sorry almost saying this, but more than their children sometimes. At least that's what we felt. They just love them deeply and so much. And so we knew that. But how much? So asking that question kind of revealed another side of them. And so I was shocked, more than 35% spent more than a thousand dollars on their pets in the last six months. And by that, it's just food, some products, treatments. So what this tells me is that they love and value their pets even more than I thought. And when they come to us, they want the ultimate, best solution. They are ready to pay, and we are not there to steal their money or things like that.

(07:33):

It's so important to give more value than what they pay for. So we just have to offer them whatever is best. Their pet deserves the best. So their pet's health is number one on their list. And that just made us question how we present the solutions to their pet's problems. That was a really good insight, and it really got our brain cells working because we realized that for them, quality is definitely the number one results is important for them. So we want to make sure we satisfy, and really give them what they're here for. So other questions we ask them, "Why did you decide to buy from us?" So just to understand more their motivation. "What doubts or hesitations did you have before completing the purchase?" And the reason behind that question is just to, how can we be proactive about those objections in the future?

(08:34):

It's always easier to always present a solution to an objection before they even present it to us. Another question is, if they at least bought two times with us, what made them buy again? But if they only ordered once, why did they not buy from us again? So that taught us a few things. And other questions is, how did our products help your pet? Those are all questions. Yes, there are some obvious answers we get, but we got also really good insights and answers of things that we never thought about. So that was really good. Another question, which other brands did you consider before buying from us? So what that gave us is the competition. Yes, we know what our basic competition is, but it just taught us, and we learn about competitors. We maybe were not aware of like the smaller ones. So that was interesting.

(09:35):

And other questions I think like, "How can we make your shopping experience better? Do you have any new ideas for products? What would you need?" So we can maybe address their needs in the future. And if we're actually looking into creating new products, then we can actually go to that list, go to our customers directly, and ask them, "What do you need?" So that was a really good survey that I really wanted to share with you, the questions, but also the value I saw in doing that and what we've done to better understand our customers and to validate if what we thought is actually true about them. Because what we thought was true was not necessarily true. So what's the real truth? And there were some nice surprises, and it definitely helped us better understand and meet our customers needs. And to be honest, we liked it so much that I think it's definitely something we'll do more regularly.

(10:37):

We're not going to wait to create a new product or have a specific event to create a survey and send it out. We're actually going to do it more often. I don't know at what level or how often, but it was very valuable and definitely worth it.

(10:58):

Thank you for being part of this journey with me. I hope you gained valuable insights and inspiration today to keep growing and taking action towards your goals. Please follow me on social media. Also, follow us on your favorite podcast platform to get notifications every time a new episode is uploaded. See you next time.