How to Grow Your Business When Customer Behaviors Change When customers seem unpredictable, these strategies will help you use their behaviors to your advantage.

By Marco Ludwig

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Change is a natural part of any business that happens in response to customer behavior. When those behaviors shift quickly, you need solid strategies to ensure that your company achieves positive growth.

Ways to get information about your customers

No matter what might be going on in your industry or the world, these three methods can consistently provide information about what customers are doing.

1. Listen and read
Today's professionals have all kinds of tools they can use for marketing research. However, some of these options might not be within reach — or even practical — for smaller companies because of infrastructure, cost or other hurdles. The next best option is to listen and read.

What you consume in terms of articles, books, reports, podcasts, live streams and even press releases will depend to a large extent on your industry. But these sources can give important information about what's happening in local communities, how people are thinking and how to prioritize goals or needs.

The key here is that you cannot be passive when you listen or read. There's an enormous amount of other content that's going to fight for your attention. You need to be intentional, sit down with purpose and know ahead of time what kind of data you're looking for. If you have clear questions to answer, it's easier to choose sources wisely, cancel the distracting noise, and get real insights.

2. Flip your role
Even though you're a business leader, you're still a buyer, too. Switch hats for a moment and think about what you've been doing personally — not just with products or services in your area, but overall. Are you looking for more convenient ways of approaching things because you're tired, for example? That self-inquiry can give you an empathetic perspective and get you thinking about what's motivated you to change your own habits. Then, look at your customers. Do you see them doing or saying the same things you are? What would they likely do or appreciate from your company, and how would you feel in their situation? From there, you can take that information and act accordingly.

3. Engage directly with your customers
Nobody gives customer insights like customers themselves. Talking directly with the people buying from you will show you how accurate your assumptions about them are. The trick is to make sure that you use simple but specific open-ended questions when you interact with them. Open-ended questions let your customers respond in ways you might not expect and dive deeper into their issues in more personal ways. They also give you more information that makes it easier to respond to each customer as a genuine individual — allowing you to build trust in your relationship.

Keep in mind here that the way you talk to your customers will be different depending on the niche demographic and your setting. Younger buyers (e.g., Gen Z) might be fine talking with you over text, for example, whereas older buyers might want face-to-face meetings. Additionally, if you use technology, make sure that it's personalized and interactive. Social media, in particular, is especially good for getting real-time feedback and conversation.

Related: How the Crisis is Changing Consumer Behavior, and How Entrepreneurs Can Act on It

Taking action after you learn

Once you've got some answers from these strategies, you still have to ask yourself a number of questions to make decisions from the data:

  • How quickly are customer behaviors shifting?
  • How likely is it that different scenarios you've identified are actually going to happen?
  • How long will the changes last?
  • How do the changes in customer behavior influence your business?

Generally, if customer behavior is changing quickly, you don't want to lag in your response — you need to act quickly, as well. If you wait too long, buyers might see you as unprepared, and competitors can get out ahead of you. Similarly, if those changes aren't going to shift much at your company or are fleeting, then it's probably not worthwhile to change your business model in big ways.

Based on the information you get, there are a lot of pathways to growth. For example, you can modify or scale what you've already got available, or you can innovate and come up with something fresh to address completely new markets. Additionally, you can consider options like price skimming, partnerships, or even acquiring other businesses.

Related: 5 Small Business Strategies to Recover, Rebuild and Be Ready

Even with changes in behavior, controlling growth is possible

Customers are incredibly dynamic in terms of what they do and think. Thus, good business requires you to be mindful of shifts in buyer behavior — as that's what allows you to meet customers where they are and deliver competitively based on current needs. Listening/reading, putting yourself in your customer's shoes, and getting feedback directly from your base are all reliable ways to assess behavior and chart a path forward. Be as receptive as you can and analyze quickly to make sure that your growth exceeds expectations.

Related: The 'Why Before You Buy' Is Key to Connecting With Customers
Wavy Line
Marco Ludwig

Chief Executive Officer & President at Schluter Systems

Marco Ludwig is CEO and president of Schluter Systems, a provider of innovative solutions for tile installation.

Editor's Pick

A Father Decided to Change When He Was in Prison on His Son's Birthday. Now His Nonprofit Helps Formerly Incarcerated Applicants Land 6-Figure Jobs.
Lock
A Teen Turned His Roblox Side Hustle Into a Multimillion-Dollar Company — Now He's Working With Karlie Kloss and Elton John
Lock
3 Mundane Tasks You Should Automate to Save Your Brain for the Big Stuff
Lock
The Next Time Someone Intimidates You, Here's What You Should Do
5 Ways to Manage Your Mental Health and Regulate Your Nervous System for Sustainable Success

Related Topics

Business News

Uber Eats Deliveries Are Flooding a Los Angeles Neighborhood — Except No One Knows Who Placed the Orders

Residents of L.A.'s Highland Park neighborhood are once again the target of dozens of unsolicited Uber Eats orders. The "annoying and somewhat disturbing" mystery is gripping the city.

Business News

Gamestop Suddenly Fires CEO, New Chairman Posts Cryptic Tweet Hours Before Announcement

Shares of the electronics retailer plummeted up to 20% early Thursday.

Leadership

More Businesses Are Asking Customers For Tips — Should You? Don't Make These 5 'Guilt-Tipping' Mistakes.

Tipping can be a great way for your employees to earn more — and to help mitigate your costs. But you have to do it right.

Business News

'I've Got the Bug for Business': See All of Mark Wahlberg's Entrepreneurial Endeavors, From Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch to Wahlburgers

Mark Wahlberg owns businesses in several categories, including entertainment production, apparel, fitness, and nutrition.

Business Process

Do Your Employees Feel Recognized? 10 Powerful Ways To Set Up Employee Recognition Programs

Here are some best practices for rewards and recognition programs for employees and some innovative strategies for employee recognition.

Management

How to Navigate the Hidden Risks of AI and Digitization

Discover how businesses can harness the potential of AI-powered digitization while mitigating risks related to data governance, ethics, workforce adaptability and cybersecurity to drive optimization and achieve unprecedented growth.