What’s the customer ‘care factor?’
Ok, so there are a lot of big, heavy, and hard hitting history making events happening in our world at the moment that are grabbing our attention and making us think.
My question to you is, do you know what is happening in the world of your customers and community right now? What are they thinking about most? What are they ACTUALLY giving a s**t about? What do they need from you? I can guarantee that it’s going to be completely different answer for a small business owner on the East Coast of Australia than a small business owner on the East Coast of America right now.
It’s really important as a business owner to know the ‘care factor’ of your audience right now – across a variety of geographical, cultural, societal issues - and here’s 3 reasons why….
1. Knowing the care factor, shapes your content
Regardless of whether you preschedule your content or post live, whether B2B or B2C, you need to be mindful of the messaging in your content when real life is happening alongside it. Ask yourself ….Is this content going to serve my audience in the way it was intended? Am I using this platform to the best of its ability right now? Is this content time sensitive to the celebration/crisis/needs/cultural moment of what is happening right now?
There is no harm in adjusting your content when a moment calls for it and there’s also no harm in continuing to run your business as planned (to be able to continue to employ your staff, pay your bills, earn an income etc) however it’s important to ensure the message within the content you’ve worked hard on creating isn’t being miscommunicated or wasted and can still be received and used by the audience in the way that you originally intended.
2. Knowing the care factor, informs your product offering
Great ideas can appear even when you least expect it. Our human experiences often alter our ‘needs.’ As a business owner, is there something in your current product offering that you can perhaps elevate to help serve your audience or is there something new they need that you have the skill set to create? Use your intel to understand how you can serve your people better by adapting your product offering.
3. Knowing the care factor, directs your impact
Brand values are important, they shape everything about your business. Combining your own brand values as a business owner with the expectations and ‘care factor’ of your audience allows you to have the most meaningful and purposeful impact in the community. Contributing and acknowledging what is important to your audience means it will resonate with them, it builds connection, trust and overall desire to be associated with your brand. Strong brand values help you to build long term loyalty and respect amongst your community, beyond being a brand that just ‘sells stuff.’
In the end, giving a s**t is what makes us human and as we know, humans buy from humans.