We’ve all heard the saying “You can’t please everyone”. The same is true in business. It’s rarely effective to go after everyone as a potential customer. So finding the answer to the question of “Who is your customer?” will help focus your marketing efforts and perhaps even the products you offer. Likewise, if you don’t know them, how will you reach them? These answers will form the basis of your overall marketing strategy as well as the most effective ways to use social media to grow your business.
Top Product Sales
First, see if you can find any patterns in product sales. You should be able to find answers to some fundamental questions like, what is your top selling product? What is your most profitable product? Are there key times of the year when you sell more than others? This may be obvious to you, however, it’s an excellent practice to review your product sales to find any anomalies or discover new trends.
Top Buying Customer
Hopefully, you are using customer service management software to track pertinent information on exactly who your previous customers are. Look for indications of any demographics such as age, sex and location. Sometimes a job title can give some excellent clues as to a customer’s household income. In case you don’t track this, (for example a retail store) your social media channels can really help give some specifics. Are you selling to Mrs. Smith, a retired grandmother, or are you selling to Joe, a 30-something fitness trainer? Scanning your company’s followers on social media can really help build a social profile and find your biggest fans.
Simply narrowing down who your customer is, will help determine how you reach that customer. This can lead to knowing when you should offer sales incentives, promotions and direct messages. People use social media in different ways and on different platforms. Chances are Mrs. Smith uses Facebook to keep in touch with her children and their families, while Joe uses Instagram to show his fitness achievements. Knowing who your customer is and what social app they use, will determine how you can reach them, or even find similar customers who match the same profile.
Buying Decisions
Now you know what customer you want to attract, you can find key factors in their buying decisions and therefore guide your marketing strategy. Mrs. Smith (on a retired fixed income) is more likely to buy a product online if a discount is offered. While Joe is likely to buy when free shipping is offered because it fits into his busy lifestyle. It may take some time and testing to reveal the best way to influence a buying decision but once identified, it can be a very effective tool for future promotions.
Group Segmentation
Tailoring your key marketing efforts around your core customer is vitally important for any business. But wait, there’s more! Determining secondary groups of customers can also produce additional sales results. For example, a local chocolate shop that sells premium candies will quickly tell you that their sales spike seasonally around Halloween, Christmas and Easter. The customers shopping at this time of year may be different from a regular customer group because they only shop once or twice a year. Regardless, they are still a key customer. Perhaps your goal is to get this second group of customers to buy more often. To cater to them specifically, a clever after-Christmas promotion could be designed to bring them back into the store after the holiday resulting in increased sales and avoiding the typical slump that is so common in a retail environment. This second group of customers is important because they have the potential to add incremental sales throughout the year.
Once your key groups are established, a strategy can be built around more effectively reaching these key customers. You can begin to concentrate your efforts and budget on what works to bring you the greatest return (ROI) and grow your product sales!
