4 Steps to Being Customer Centric in Marketing Green Technology

With an overwhelming number of options vying for people’s attention, being customer centered is more important than ever. What exactly does being customer centric mean when marketing green and clean technology? Much like trying to lose weight and keep it off, there’s no quick fix. Being customer-centered requires a complete lifestyle change. This may sound daunting, but if you take it one step at a time (hint: the 4 steps below), you can smoothly make the transition.

customer centric” width=”400″ height=”auto” />

1. Define Your Customers

It goes without saying that you have to know your buyer personas inside and out. Still, we need to say it. Developing buyer personas requires real-life interaction. Analytics and articles on the internet aren’t enough (not even this one). If you’re fortunate to have customers who happily agree to be interviewed, it’s safe to assume that many won’t have a clear idea of what they want. This means that you, the interviewer, will have to supply them with the questions. It sounds counterproductive, but with this touch of added assistance, your customers will raise their own questions in no time.

2. Discover Customer Buying Habits

The bad thing about habits is that they’re hard to break. On the other hand, they can be great learning resources. Know the “What”, “When”, and “Why”:

• “What” tells you the type of products and services that your customers value. Even unrelated products can provide significant insight into their way of thinking.
• “When” translates to “Timing is everything.” You can’t sell anything if people aren’t ready to buy it. Recognizing when consumers are willing to buy, and when certain trends are losing steam is critical to your success.
• The big “Why”. Being customer centric is centered on fulfilling customer needs. To meet those needs you have to know why they want this, and why they don’t want that. Certainly easier said than done, but acquiring this knowledge will take your marketing campaign to a new level.

 

3. Create Content That They’ll Love

First and foremost, content must be relevant and useful. Yet, it can’t be boring. If you’re writing a blog, throw in a splash of humor or a clever analogy whenever appropriate. This not only keeps the reader engaged, but it softens the blow of technical terms. Also, don’t run from social media; it’s the word-of-mouth of this day and age. Certain types of content work better on some platforms than others, so you’ll need to tackle this with a strategy. Just like anything else, the right platforms for your green tech company will be dependent on your buyer personas.

4. Nurture Visitors From Leads to Customers

Congratulations, you’ve created content that delights your visitors. Now it’s time to take all the leads you’ve generated and convert them to customers< Sadly, they have yet to create an app that can do this, so we’ll have to nurture those leads ourselves. Having a thorough understanding of the buyer’s journey will help you create emails that will gently point your leads towards the next stage. Remember the questions you used to develop buyer personas? They can be used to create personalized, attention-grabbing email subjects. The more attuned the subject is to a particular persona, the more likely your prospect is to open the email and move down the funnel.

The Bottom Line

Marketing tools and technologies are important, but being customer centric is all about adopting a specific methodology. Inbound Marketing includes the necessary components to attract website visitors, convert them to leads, and earn new customers.   To learn about what’s needed to develop an effective Content and Inbound Strategy, grab our free eBook here! If you have any questions about how to get started with an Inbound Strategy for your company, don’t be shy, reserve a time to speak with us here. We’re happy to help!