Small Business Philippines

Finding good customers isn’t necessarily easy. If it was easy, there would be no need for articles like this and we’d all be lunching with Bill Gates and Oprah. No it’s not easy, and it’s possible to spend – and lose – lots of money before you actually get your strategy right. And once you get good customers, your business success depends on your keeping them as well.So, that’s the not so good news. The good news is, there is a step-by-step approach you can take to make the process easier – easier to remember and easier to implement.

This series of articles will walk you through that approach, using an analogy we’re all familiar with – dating. I know, I know, it sounds a little cheesy. But as a matter of fact, the approach many of us use or have used to find a perfect mate, is the same approach you can use to find – and keep – good customers for your Small Business. I guarantee that after you’ve read this series, you’ll have a much different view of customer acquisition and retention, and your business will benefit.

Quick note before we begin: For those of you who actually try to use these principles to find a date for next Saturday night – we wish you the best.

Step One: What’s Your Type?

I’m not sure what the young people are calling it these days, but before asking someone on a date or “making your approach”, you should know your type, right? Big or small, funny or serious – you have an idea of the type of person who catches your fancy. With your Marketing strategy the same principle applies – the more defined your Market is, the better.

Having a target market allows you to create a stronger strategy because you know how to approach them appropriately. If you haven’t identified your Market, you’ve probably already thrown good money away on prospects you may have never given the time of day. For example, it would be the same as distributing photocopies of your phone number at a bar – you’ll probably get some takers, but chances are they won’t be the ones you want.

So, let’s go meet the customer of your dreams:

1. What do they look like? (Demographic) It’s a big mistake to assume that all of a certain group will be interested in your product or service. There will usually be some characteristics that will distinguish your market niche. So take a few moments to visualize your perfect customer (that’s right, close your eyes…) and answer these questions: What’s the age range? What gender are they? Are they married or single? What are their income levels? What’s their education level?

2. Where do they live?(Geographic) Where your customer lives can have a big impact on how you reach them, the products you provide, and even your pricing strategy. So ask yourself these questions: What area of the country does your best customer live in? Are they in urban, suburban or rural areas? What’s the climate like?

3. What do they like? (Psychographic) If you can get to this next level of information, you’ll really be well on your way. What type of activities does your dream customer participate in? Do they tend to be conservative or liberal in their thinking? What are their interests?

4. What do they need? What do they want you to fix or solve for them? If you don’t know, conduct a quick survey to find out.

Okay, so that’s the first step in our “courting” process (everyone over the age of 35 will understand what I mean). Take some time and answer these questions for your business. It will be time well spent.

Next week, we’ll talk about the next step in finding and keeping the customer of your dreams in “Proposition, Don’t Harass”.