← All ArticlesWritten by
Laura Leiva
Published on
November 19, 2024
Future-proof your business: Using customer insights to grow smarter and with a competitive edge
Staying ahead of subtle changes in customer preferences is an advantage worth its weight in gold.
Think of customer insights like a GPS for your business.
Just as a GPS doesn’t only show you where you’ve been but also maps out what’s ahead, customer insights go beyond reflecting past behavior. They help you anticipate twists and turns in customer needs, guiding you to stay on course even when navigating changes in the market.
Customer insights can help businesses forecast and adapt to emerging needs, but anticipating these changes is the true competitive advantage. Without these insights, businesses have the potential to fall behind as customer preferences change and evolve quickly.
Chris Cocks, Hasbro’s chief executive officer, highlights the importance of tracking customer insights.
“It’s foundational to us to fundamentally understand our customers and where they want to go. And we use that on everything,” he says.
Tapping into these insights through an AI-powered platform can reveal unmet needs, highlight demand shifts, and align your brand with what matters most to your customers (and keep your business ahead of the curve).
Creating a strategy that evolves with customer needs and expectations
Building a future-focused strategy means companies need data from various touchpoints. Since customer insights come from numerous sources, collecting and organizing data through a centralized platform offers a birds-eye view of what customers want and might need next.
Here are just a few examples of how to use customer feedback across various sources:
- In-app and email surveys: Capture direct feedback from users who are already engaged, giving valuable insights into their immediate needs and experiences.
- Social media monitoring: Track brand mentions, reviews, and sentiment as they happen in real time, providing insight into brand perception and trending concerns.
- Customer service interactions: Monitor recurring issues or questions and use them to indicate underlying needs that may impact customer satisfaction.
- Chats and phone calls: Uncover customer pain points or preferences through direct dialogue, adding a personal dimension to customer understanding.
- Virtual meetings and focus groups: Engage customers in deeper discussions to understand nuanced needs and preferences.
- Online reviews and ratings: Gain insight into product strengths and areas for improvement, often with specific details based on user experience.
- Website or product usage: Track user behavior to detect changes in how customers interact with your offerings, which can reveal usability trends or interest in certain features.
The bottom line: Gathering insights from these sources using a centralized platform allows businesses to understand shifting expectations holistically—tracking how each source plays a role in the larger picture.
Staying ahead of market shifts with proactive customer insights
When used strategically, customer insights are early indicators of emerging trends, unmet needs, and evolving sentiments. With today’s dynamic market, staying ahead of trends can feel like playing a game of Whac-A-Mole.
But combining customer feedback data using a single tool can impact everything from developing marketing playbooks to how the business approaches new product offerings.
Identifying what your customers need (and want) ahead of time
By analyzing recurring themes in customer feedback, businesses can identify what customers are asking for, pointing to future product opportunities. If feedback shows interest in a feature, it may signal latent demand that, when met, can position the company as one that innovates and listens to its customers.
For example, an at-home fitness brand notices increased feedback about wanting app connectivity features during workouts. Using this feedback, the brand zeroes in on developing related features that engage early adopters.
Remember that collecting and using customer insights isn’t always about creating something new. Refining, refreshing, or enhancing existing products or user experiences is equally important to align with customer expectations. Doing so minimizes the risk of launching new products that may not resonate with current demand.
Spotting changes in customer feedback
It’s no secret that customer preferences constantly change, and staying attuned is essential to meeting those demands. The ability to notice those shifts can help give you a competitive edge.
For instance, an increasing emphasis on "convenience," "sustainability," or "affordability" within feedback can signal broader changes in customer priorities. Recognizing these trends early allows brands to proactively align their offerings with customer values, assuring their products and messaging resonate.
Say an online fashion brand notices growing feedback related to ethical sourcing. Recognizing this shift helps the brand adjust its marketing to highlight sustainable practices, aligning with customer values and strengthening loyalty.
Creating predictive models for smarter decision-making
Customer feedback data can also be used to build predictive models that anticipate demand and forecast shifts in customer needs over time.
These models enable businesses to prepare for upcoming changes, allowing them to adjust strategies and operations well in advance instead of reacting at the last minute. Staying on the offense with your customer’s needs helps avoid costly course corrections and supports long-term stability.
Here’s what that might look like: an online brand uses feedback to build predictive analytics around user preferences, allowing it to adjust content recommendations and launch targeted campaigns.
Staying competitive by spotting market trends early
Tracking customer sentiments over time allows brands to stay ahead of industry-wide trends.
Companies that gather these insights are better positioned to differentiate themselves and build loyalty in a competitive landscape. For instance, if feedback consistently highlights issues with product usability, addressing these concerns quickly can elevate the user experience, boosting customer retention and satisfaction in return.
Consider an app developer who tracks accessibility issues raised by users. Collecting that data allows the product head to respond with a streamlined update that improves retention and reviews.
Addressing issues early can help differentiate your brand and build loyalty by 86%, according to Khoros.
Future-proof your business with insights powered by AI
AI-powered tools play a transformative role in helping companies stay ahead of customer expectations by identifying and acting on trends as they emerge. Here’s how an AI platform can become your brand’s partner in growth.
Automated pattern recognition—in real-time
AI-powered platforms remove the manual effort of identifying trends, significantly reducing response times. These tools enable teams to act on issues as they crop up.
The result? Data-driven decisions align the brand with changing customer needs and help move operations forward. Companies don’t miss critical customer feedback or preference changes by automating trend detection.
Finding the “unknowns”
AI tools go beyond traditional analytics by identifying insights that may not be immediately apparent. When you aren’t sure what you’re looking for, it makes it that much harder to make sense of feedback.
There’s real power in uncovering hidden needs and opportunities. Using an AI-powered customer intelligence platform, like Unwrap.ai, allows businesses to address demands they might have otherwise missed.
Innovative and strategic brands use the power of customer insights to their advantage
Strategic brands understand that customer feedback isn’t just data–these insights are what can help teams navigate a frequently changing market. By staying proactive, brands can better meet customer expectations and find new ways to grow and innovate.
