That Might Not Be Your Customer
Writing By Maurice A Davis
Have you ever felt frustrated when your sales pitch didn't work out, or someone didn't understand your offer? Or you've experienced a situation where someone bought your product despite it not being your best sales pitch. These scenarios could be the result of needing to understand your ideal customer. When you first start a business, it's natural to want to appeal to as many people as possible, thinking this will bring in more customers. But this is a misguided approach.
When I first started in business, I was a personal trainer. My mentor would ask me, "Who is your customer?" I remember it like it was yesterday. I told him, "Anyone who wants to get in shape and is ready to work."
I thought I was so clever; I had a massive smile on my face until he looked at me and said, "WRONG! If you try to talk to everyone, no one will understand what you are saying."
If you know who your ideal customer is, you're joined. 85% of new business owners need to learn who their perfect customer is. Often, the descriptions they give need more direction, focus, and details. For example, a stylist may say, "I work with people that care about their appearance," or a marketer may say, "People that are ready to take their business to the next level." While these descriptions may sound good, they need to provide a clearer picture of what the customer looks like, thinks about, where they live, and other vital aspects that are necessary when thinking about your ideal customer.
Everyone is not your customer!
What is an ideal customer?
So, what is an ideal customer? An ideal customer gets maximum value from your product or service and provides maximum value to your business. Think about a list of things that you'd want a customer to do to reduce the cost of having them as a customer or to improve the value to your company - that's your ideal customer. They are the ones you love to work with and are excited about what you offer.
My mentor defines them as your 10 out of 10's. You LOVE to work with these people, and they are excited about your offering: Aka, the perfect (ideal) customer.
How do you identify your ideal customer?
Identifying your ideal customer is crucial because it helps you communicate effectively with the people you want to serve. It's not about turning people away because they don't meet the criteria of an ideal customer, but rather it's about being targeted in your communication to the market. Brain Tracy suggests six key steps to identify your ideal customer. These steps include defining your product or service from the customer's point of view, defining the ideal customer for what you sell, determining the specific benefits your customer is seeking in buying your product, determining the location of your exact customer, determining exactly when your ideal customer buys your product or service, and determining your customer's buying strategy.
How do you identify your ideal customer?
Your ideal customer's higher level of satisfaction is often a result of a few key factors. The product suits their needs, the service model matches their preferred method, and they connect with the people.
Refer more often.
Your ideal customers will just send you more referrals-- point-blank. The higher satisfaction is a primary contributor to the additional referrals, but there is more. I mentioned earlier that some customers "just get it"; these are the ones that get it. They will have a better connection with the company and can typically identify with the mission of the organization.
Refer Higher Quality.
Think about human nature and look at the ten people closest to you. What do you notice? We hang out or associate with people with shared interests and similar lifestyles. If your customer is a ten on the customer rating scale, it is likely the people in their circle are too.
Cost Less to Maintain.
I hate to keep beating this dead horse, but your ideal customer "gets it." No, this doesn't mean they won't need anything, and you can go on autopilot, but it does mean they will fall in the acceptable range of calls and emails. Fewer calls and emails mean fewer person-hours spent on handling customer questions.
"Your ideal customers are the ones who love your product so much, they'd be willing to tattoo your logo on their forehead." - Jeff Bezos.
Knowing your ideal customer is also beneficial to your business because they tend to have higher overall satisfaction, refer more often and higher quality, and cost less to maintain. The assumption is that you have your customer experience well put together, but knowing your ideal customer means you can communicate with them effectively.
So ask yourself, would you rather have a customer who buys from you all the time, loves your offer, and sends it to everyone they know? Or a customer that thinks the product is decent, hard to please, and barely talks about your request? In conclusion, understanding who your ideal customer is can help maximize the resources available to produce the most value.
