When I meet for the first time with a prospective client, one of the first questions I ask is…
Who is your customer?
It’s a simple question really because in order for us to help them locate more customers, we need to define who these ideal prospects are. Unfortunately, most of the answers I get are very general or in some cases, the question outright stumps them. Here are some example answers.
“Everyone!”
“Any woman!”
“Teenagers!”
“Any business.”
Okay… but who exactly are they? Anyone who has experienced high school or 3rd grade for that matter knows how different people can be regardless of their obvious and mostly generalized similarities. As you plan for 2011 and as you attach numbers to your marketing and advertising budgets, defining exactly who your customers are and challenging yourself as well as your staff to be as specific and detailed as possible should be a worthwhile exercise.
Only after you’ve truly defined your customer can you benefit from where you have been and determine where you are going. When defining your customers, here are some things you should take in to consideration.
1) Make a list of your 10 favorite existing customers. Who are they? What do they have in common? They are your favorites because they value your products or services the most. And they value it the most because they see value in what they are receiving from your products and services.
2) Make a list of what you do or sell REALLY well. Be honest. You can’t be everything to everyone.
3) A gender is not an identified customer.
4) Everyone or every business is not an identified customer.
5) When attaching an age range, don’t use a span greater than 10 years.
6) An income range is not generally an identified customer unless further defined by buying habits and lifestyle.
7) An identified customer is often in a “situation”. When we are in a “situation”, we generally need something or someone.
8) The chances are who you think or want to be your customers are not your customers. This is not an exercise in who you want as your customers. Instead, it’s about identifying who your customers are TODAY.
Define your customers first before deciding where to spend your ad and marketing dollars.
Once they are defined, GO AFTER THEM!
Until Next Time…
