Many companies have only a fuzzy definition of who their target customers are.
The more ambiguous the definition, the less efficient the company’s overall marketing will be, and the less likely the company will perform well financially.I define “target customers” as the set of potential customers who a company has the best chance to sell their products/services to because of the customer’s perceived value versus all direct and indirect competitors and alternatives.
It’s only after a target customer type is deeply understood that virtually all elements of a company’s business and marketing strategies can be set and geared for maximum efficiency and market share capture.
The slam dunk customer
Ideally, a company’s target group of customers is made up of what I call “slam dunk” customers, i.e. those who would be making a big mistake by not buying your product. They just may not know that yet!
Can you describe, in detail, the attributes of your slam dunk customers for what you have to sell today? Additionally, can you describe why those customers buy your product vs. their other choices?
An important aside: Will your product only be purchased when the customer is “in the market to buy something,” therefore pitting you against competitors and alternatives? Or, is your product beneficial enough that it will win over a customer who is “doing nothing” today? Those are two different marketing problems, albeit related.
Another aside: Do you have enough potential slam dunk customers today? If not, you need to eventually develop a value proposition of products and/or services that give you more. You can’t do this instantly, but it should become an important part of your future strategy.
Finding slam dunk customers
If you can describe them you can find them. And since you only have so much money and time, you need to discover the most cost-effective way to do it. In a B2B marketplace, it’s not enough to know the company target. You must really know and understand the key attributes of the decision-maker(s), and his or her influencer(s), if appropriate. Only people buy things, so the B2B puzzle is two-level.
Once found, how to hook?
The better you know your target customer, the more successful you will be in hooking them. You must know how they think and what they value. You must know what their needs, pains and fears are. You must know how and why they buy. You must deeply understand how your product/service fits their situation to deliver no-brainer value.
It’s all about efficient use of money, energy and time
Some products and services necessitate a more personal touch, or longer sales cycles, or mandated competition, etc., to achieve success.
The puzzle is how to spend a total-cost-of-customer acquisition the company can afford and have it work in the shortest time possible.
You can’t solve this puzzle without knowing an extraordinary amount about your target customer. But when you do, the puzzle solution(s) you can afford becomes more and more obvious. ●
Lonnie Martin is Chair for Vistage International/Sacramento
