Define your Customer

"The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself."
~Peter F. Drucker

In my last post, I asked you to articulate your organization's "promise" - the main reason you're in business.  When doing this, you probably thought about your expertise, the products you offer or the specific type of service you provide.  While this is necessary, the second step to defining your promise is to fully understand who you're trying to reach with your business.

In my consulting, I've heard companies say, "I'd like to reach everyone!"  Their belief that being "everything to everyone" is a good business decision often ends up being more of a problem and waste of money.  In reality, successful organizations identify the specific 'type' of person/industry they want to reach and shape their business to meet the customers' needs.

Strong organizations have a specific person, or customer, in mind and build their business to cater to her/him. For example, think of Nike®.  Who is their target customer?  You probably own a pair of their sneakers or some of their athletic wear, but you may be surprised that you are not their target customer.  Nike® makes it explicit that they are in the business of catering to professional athletes. That's their target audience...not causal athletes or "mall walkers."  Nike® believes that if they can create a product that meets the needs of the professional athlete, then "regular" people will be blown away by the quality of their merchandise. 

In defining your customer, and ultimately your business promise, here are the pertinent questions you need to be asking:
• Who exactly are you trying to reach with your business? 
• What makes your customer stand out from "everyone"?
• How does your "promise" enhance the lives of your target customers?
• What are you doing to make your product/service easy for the customer to buy?

Once you define your customer, the next step is to never stop learning about them.  Keep finding out more and tweak your organization to meet their needs. 

Good luck as you enhance your business.  I look forward to hearing from you soon.