Q: How do I find the customers that are going to generate the most profit and how do go about getting more of the same kind on board?
Sep 27 2007
Answered by: Jackie Jarvis Ask a question
First of all you need to define the most profitable service or product that your business offers. Then you need to define the best target customers for that product or service, and find out as much as you possibly can about them.
Here are some questions that will help you to do that.
- Who have been your best customers in the past? Take a look at their profile.
- Consider what kinds of people/businesses are most likely to want your product or service?
What to find out about your target customer
- Their demographic profile – for individuals - gender, age, income, education, occupation, location and for companies - industry type, number of employees, location
- Their psychographics – these are the things that relate to the character of the individuals you do business with
- Their interests and habits
- Their location and how to reach them
- Where they may be looking for solutions like yours
- How they go about buying the products or services you are selling
- How they like to buy
- What they are comfortable paying
- Where they go to find products or services like yours
- The particular things that are important to them when they are buying a service or product like yours
- What are the evolving problems of your target customers?What is happening in the market in general that may be about to influence them?
- The habits of your target customers
- What are the main problems your target customer has that your product or service could fulfil?
- What they read, where they go, what they are interested in?
Creating your sales message
Once you have found out as much as you possibly can about your target customer you will need to package and communicate your profitable product/service to attract them.
This means thinking about the potential value you can offer, the solutions, unique selling proposition, core sales message, guarantee, prices, offers and more
What is the best route to your target customer?
Once you know who your target customer is and you have created the right message to attract them you will be in a position to go out and get them.
Marketing methods
There are many different ways to attract the right people to your business and you will need to choose the right ones for you. This may involve testing different methods until you hit on the system and the process that works best for you.
The information you have gathered about the habits of your target customer will help you to choose the right way to reach them.
There are many different methods described in my book found at www.85ways.co.uk but some you might want to consider are;
- Targeted PR with a call to action (free consultation, free audit, free report)
- Targeted advertising with an attention grabbing headline and a call to action
- Targeted tele-marketing for appointments
- Building host/joint partnership relationships with people who currently work with those you want to reach
- Targeted events/talks with a follow up call to action
- Targeted direct mail letters from a good list of the right people followed up with a telephone call within 3 days
- Website marketing/google/online advertising
- Registering your business on the FREE business link supplier listing making sure that you define the business you want
- Targeted networking – go to the events that your target customer is most likely to attend
Getting the right work is all about being very clear about what that is specifically and the right target customer is for it. To attract the right work you will need to communicate your solution in the best way for your target. The method you use to attract business must again be focused on the right target and you should monitor and measure what works. I hope this helps.
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