Six weeks ago, I rather impulsively adopted a cat (please don’t tell the shelter). Fortunately, it seems to be working out well – if we move quickly past the near-poisoning episode, the regular fears for my blinds and my new wake-up time of 5 AM as that’s when Maxwell, as I named him, is extremely full of life.
To say the past weeks have been an education is an understatement of note. You may think – it’s a cat, how hard can it be? And certainly, that was mine when making the hasty decision. If I’m honest, I thought my biggest consideration would be care options for when I travel. I did my due diligence on that matter before driving to the shelter.
What I didn’t consider is, well, pretty much everything else. What to feed him? Wet or dry food? What type? What type of litter? Self-cleaning trays versus standard? Scented or unscented? How well does it deal with clumping versus limiting dust and tracking? Then there’s toys – different toys to satisfy different physical and psychological needs. I could go on.
My point is that it has been a baptism of fire entering this new world of pet ownership and navigating the multitude of items to purchase in this category. Through it all, the thing I’m most hungry for is information from trustworthy sources. I crave it. I google everything and read all I can. Yet I still don’t feel it is enough. I don’t feel I’m being helped through my journey as a new pet owner from reliable sources.
This strikes me a massive opportunity waiting to be owned; other new – and veteran – pet owners must have the same questions. It is a perfect time for a brand to become a strategic partner and guide us through this exciting and daunting journey.
It also struck me that I’d be the perfect candidate to answer questions around what type of content I would find valuable, and in what format. There are times when a quick checklist would have been invaluable (Question: how many times has your cat been sick in the past 12 hours? Answer: 4. Guidance: seek immediate Veterinary attention). While at others, I’d gladly deep dive into long-form content detailing the ins and outs of cat behaviors and ways to keep them psychologically healthy and happy.
For a brand to be that strategic partner, they need to know what their customers are struggling with when trying to make a purchase decision. This means understanding their customers’ context and learning what’s important – and what’s not – to them. Continually asking questions through research helps identify pain points and suggest how they can be addressed, where customers are getting value and where there are gaps, and even just keeping a pulse on an ever-changing landscape.
The benefit for the brand? The ability to become a trusted adviser while promoting awareness of their products and services and in the long run cultivating loyalty and advocacy. It feels like a win-win situation.
In short, it is a good reminder that it’s always good to ask and keep asking your customers questions across the full spectrum of topics. Asking about their content needs isn’t necessarily top of mind when it comes to research but it is a powerful way to learn how to help them and in turn, deliver even better more valuable customer experiences. And in today’s Experience Economy, that’s the ultimate goal.
First published on FocusVison
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