UBER are picking up bags of clothes for charity, delivering umpires to backyard cricket matches and bringing kittens and puppies to offices. Why are they doing this? Why don’t they just concentrate on providing fast, reliable and comfortable transport with effortless, cashless transactions for their passengers?

Because, UBER don’t just know their customers, they really know their consumers.

Knowing who your customers are is absolutely crucial for a successful business.  And UBER will have demographic, economic and geographic data to paint a picture of their key customer groups. This enables them to be right there when a customer calls.

But really knowing your customers is a whole other story. UBER must go beyond only knowing that their target customer, for example, is a ‘25-34-year-old, white-collar professional that works in the city and lives within 10kms of the CBD’. They also have to know the little quirks and idiosyncrasies that make them unique. For instance, that this young inner-city consumer a) spends most of their time working hard in an office, b) that they want to give back to the community but lack time to do anything about it, and c) that they like to turn social occasions into exceptional, memorable experiences.

So these extra fun services are actually cementing their brand by providing more than just simple transport solutions. They are delivering right to the heart of their customers’ core values. Building an intuitive bond between the brand and the customer.

And this is so clever, because UBER are acutely aware that another player could arrive on the scene with the same brashness and bravado that they did.  UBER knows that as quickly as they have become a verb in our everyday life, another brand is waiting in the wings to launch and conquer. So rather than resting on their laurels, UBER are continually researching and refining their process and products to stay one step ahead of the game (unlike the companies they’re fast replacing).

At BrandHook, we’re all about delivering insight to our clients at the same holistic level that UBER does for its own consumers. So get in touch if you want to understand what makes your customers tick, not just within the primary service you deliver, but beyond it.

And UBER, if you are reading, we know these Gen Y, busy city workers really well too….. we know that they prioritise work and play over life’s annoying admin tasks. So how about ‘UBER with a bean-counter’ for the month of June…. Accountants that ride alongside you and give short, sharp advice on getting the best tax return possible… just an idea.

Written by Megan

Really knowing your customers