In our series Selfmade U, we’ll tackle the most common questions and pain points that come up for business owners with tips and tricks from Selfmade, a virtual business coaching program, founded by Brit + Co founder Brit Morin and sponsored by Office Depot OfficeMax. We’ll hear from Selfmade members and business coaches on what it takes to run a successful business and make it as an entrepreneur.
Understanding your target audience takes active listening, personalized experiences, and an effective user research plan. “User research is a vital tool for businesses seeking to understand their customers better and create products and services that truly meet their customer needs,” says Selfmade coach Bex Moxley. “You gain valuable insights into user behaviors, preferences, and pain points, enabling you to make data-driven decisions.”
As a kid, Sopi Mitil had a dream of being a fashion designer. “I had the opportunity to learn how to sew from a mentor who was invested in helping kids from underrepresented communities,” she says. Sopi is a first-generation Haitian who grew up with a single mother raising five children in what was a new culture and language to her. “Despite these challenges, my mother made sure that I had mentors throughout my childhood who provided guidance and additional support to my educational and social needs.”
Sopi went on to college, then law school and built her own law firm before that childhood dream resurfaced in 2021. “Fashion has always been a passion of mine and one day after a challenging visit to a department store, I decided to pursue my passion,” she says. That challenging day she was trying to find an interview outfit that made her feel confident. “I'm 4' 11. I’ve got these short arms, these little legs. And so I was like, ‘Well, I'll just create something,’” she recalls. That’s when Sopi Mitil Co., an eco-friendly fashion brand for curvy petite women, was born.
But learning how to transition from a service-based business to a product-based business was no easy feat. Sopi decided to apply for an Office Depot OfficeMax scholarship to Selfmade. “The scholarship to Selfmade gave me a new sounding board of professionals to bounce ideas off of and expanded my community of like-minded business owners,” she says. “I was able to take advantage of the mentoring early on in the program and was provided with some tools and ideas to help build my business.”
In Moxley’s Selfmade workshop How to Successfully Plan, Conduct, and Analyze User Research, Moxley notes that the first step to starting your user research is to define your objective. “I learned that my customer wants to learn more about Sopi Mitil so they can embody the Sopi Mitil Woman,” says Sopi. “As a result, we have added Sopi’s Corner to the website and we are now distributing a newsletter to our email list so our customers will be able to learn more about me, entrepreneurship and how to embody being the Sopi Mitil Woman.”
Here are ways to listen to and reach more customers effectively so you can gain valuable insights, improve your products or services, and build stronger customer relationships.
Start With Market Research: Identify your demographic, your customer’s behaviors, and their purchasing habits by taking advantage of online surveys, interviews, and online analytics tools to gather data about your customers' preferences and pain points. Give your customers a friendly nudge to share their opinions, suggestions, and ideas, then analyze the feedback to make decisions about product improvements, service enhancements, or overall customer experience.
Actively Listen: Monitor customer reviews and social media comments and pay close attention to both positive and negative feedback to improve your products and services. On social media, you can have customer conversations, respond to questions, and address customer concerns to build meaningful connections with your target customer.
“It is really important to have experienced marketers to push the brand to the key demographics,” says Sopi. “I have recently onboarded a new marketing team and they have done a phenomenal job of using social media to reach more potential customers and I am seeing an increase in engagement on my social channels, which are translating to sales.”
Build Customer Personas: Create personas that represent your target audience and be specific. Give her a name, an age, a lifestyle, likes and dislikes using market research data, customer feedback, and behavioral patterns you’re noticing. These personas will help you develop a marketing message that really resonates with your target audience.
Offer Great Customer Service: This is so important for customer satisfaction and retention. Address customer issues and go the extra mile to exceed their expectations. Positive customer experiences can lead to word-of-mouth referrals, a free way to get the word out!
Create Personalized Experiences: Try customer relationship management (CRM) tools to track customer data and create personalized experiences. Send targeted marketing messages, recommend relevant products or services, and offer exclusive promotions based on individual customer preferences.
Leverage Email Marketing: Develop an email marketing strategy to reach and engage with your customer base. Encourage customers to subscribe to your newsletters or updates and provide content they’d care about, promotions, or exclusive offers via email.
Stay Ahead Of The Curve: Keep up with market trends, tech upgrades, and customer behaviors to adapt your strategies, products, or services to suit changing customer needs.
“An early lesson I learned was not to be afraid to ask for help,” say Sopi. “Pride can be an achilles heel of the entrepreneur. But now I know when I am feeling overwhelmed, I need to delegate.” You can’t do it all and you’re doing your best, so take one step at a time to learn about your customer and adjust as you gain a deeper understanding of their needs and motivations.
With help from Office Depot's products and services, Sopi has been able to find everything she needs to run her business. “From office supplies to furniture to technology, Office Depot has saved me time and money. When I look at my office, I sometimes wonder if I am in an Office Depot commercial because about 80 percent of what is in my office came from Office Depot!”
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Illustrated by Daniela Jordan-Villaveces
Take the time to focus on your customer, while Office Depot OfficeMax can help you organize & save time with a suite of business services & solutions to help you accomplish more – from signs, posters & banners to get your business noticed to marketing materials to help bring your brand vision to life.