Potential Customers

Potential Customers Explained! The definition of a customer according to Dictionary.com is a person who purchases goods or services from another. Therefore, a Customer is someone who has already purchased your goods or services.  Whilst it may seem obvious to deduce that everyone else who hasn't yet purchased your products or services is a potential customer, this is not the case. Not everyone who hasn't yet purchased your products or services is a potential customer for your organisation's products and/or services. They may be a perfect customer for some business’s and completely inappropriate for others. The definition according to Dictionary.com for potential is, capable of being or becoming. Therefore, a potential customer is someone who is capable of becoming a purchaser of your product and/or services. By understanding your potential clients and customers, those most likely to buy from your organisation, you can target your communication material accordingly. The key group of potential customers is known as your target audience, the group of people or organisations who are most likely to buy from your company. How do we Identify your potential customers? You can choose to see everyone as your potential client or focus on a specific segment or group of people to be more effective. Grouping consumers allow you to identify which group is the most appropriate target for your products. You can efficiently and effectively use marketing activities to engage them and convert them into your customers. First, you will need to identify how the market is divided for the product that you are providing. Think along the following variables to help you identify the different customer groups: Geography: region, population, climate Demographics: age, gender, income, family size, family life cycle Psychographics: lifestyle, personality, interests, habits, values Behaviour: usage, loyalty, readiness to purchase, attitude towards product, buying decision Benefits: social status, health, emotions                  Next, evaluate these different market segments and your own goals to find out which is the most appropriate segment for your product. Customer group's overall attractiveness Is the potential segment attractive based on market size, growth potential, profitability, scale economies and risk? Company's objectives and resources Is it worth you investing in this customer group given your business objectives, competencies, and resources? Think about different customer segments. Consider the various credit cards in the market. What is unique about each card and who does it appeal to? On the surface, they may look like they are all providing a similar service. In reality, each card is positioned differently even if they are issued by the same provider. Card providers have expertly segmented customer groups and customised a palette of services for each credit card to meet the needs and wants of each group. Act on it, identify your best customers now that you have observed the different groups of customers in your market, you need to select your best customers. These are customer groups with the needs that you are able to meet. Develop your value proposition and pitch it to each of them. Next lets create your customer persona, it will help you get a clear picture of your target customer / audience.  Who are they, where do they hang out, where do they shop for products and services?  You need to create a persona of your ideal customer.  Creating your customer persona will dictate how your website, your social media, all your relevant content and communication will speak your target market's language. And when you can converse effectively with your target market (those most likely to buy your products/services) your sales become predictable and dependable.  Let's look at your Ideal persona, if you have existing customers, ask yourself, based on existing sales, or customer enquiries and comments. Alternatively, if you are starting out who do you see your products/services solving a problem for?     Age Gender Race/Religion (to be sure your product will not offend on race/religious grounds) Marital Status Own or rent their home Employed full, part time, retired, self-employed, etc. Business or individual Do they drive? Are the B2B OR B2C client? Do they prefer to shop online or traditional face to face or site visit? Do they embrace change and innovation? These factors and more create your avatars personality and you must create a complete picture of what your ideal customer looks like; the more specific the better, even name them! Now you know a little bit about your avatar, and those with a good imagination or have met their target market can put a face to the attributes above, it's time to ask yourself.....  Where do they hang out socially? What's their preferred social media if they use any? Do they communicate through email, snail mail, Facebook messenger, whats app, skype, LinkedIn etc? Do they transact with cash or electronically? Are they active or a couch potato? The above attributes of your target audience will shape how you get their attention. Next we will look at how you communicate value and what it is that your target customer values.  What is their pain point or area of frustration you product/service fixes? What are their goals? Do they need your product or service now or in the future? How long have they lived with the frustration? How will they feel when your product/service fixes the frustration?    Give it some thought!  TIP: - If you have happy customers already use their characteristics to create your perfect customer avatar. Time to meet my avatars! Meet John: - He is 32 got a full-time job but in order to raise his income to the next level he has a side hustle doing freelance writing, he has always loved writing but he had to get a “real-job” to keep his family supported.  If the side hustle can overtake the income of his main job, it’s gone!!!   He rents at the moment; he has got a younger wife and an even younger baby daughter. He has debt but hates it. He is prepared to do what it takes to spend more time at home with his family and do something he loves. He appreciates social media but is not using it well and because of his main employment commitments. Time is his enemy; he uses services like Fiverr/Fivesquid freelancing to generate some income, but he is aware he needs to stand out if he wants to succeed.  He has considered his own website but isn’t yet ready to commit He is looking to learn more about how to use social media more effectively. And how to get maximum exposure for his limited budget. How Do I Get Johns Attention? Meet Dave He is 45 a tradesman always busy and seldom finds enough time for his family, deep down he wants to grow his business and bring on some apprentices that will help share the load and allow him to be around his family a little more.  He used to have a website, but the company went bust so who knows where his domain name is now. He attracts his business through the local paper, word of mouth on Facebook. he doesn't really want to learn the other social platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn although he does have aging profiles on both of those channels.   He uses cash for most things so he can negotiate a deal/discount and he likes to meet face to face, but because he is so busy, he can tolerate a distance transaction.  He is looking to get a new website set-up again and learn more about social media but needs someone to handle the grunt work whilst he carries on day to day. He is looking for ways to advertise that don't require constant updates like social media can, so perhaps something like a business directory or yellow pages style platform would be best for him to get his name out.  How Do I Get Dave's Attention?   So, with your own avatars, you will be able to see what content, what marketing, what approach, will get your target customers attention. Take my avatars for example.  They may not know they need a social media marketing professional, or a content researcher for fresh content ideas to promote their services on their social media posts. I could have spent a fortune advertising on Google for a customer who doesn’t know the search keyword to use that would have connected them to me.  However, a clever add on Facebook stands a better chance of getting their attention. Perhaps I could Join groups where they hang out could provide the value they are looking for.  Could you be spending money advertising in the wrong place. Stop. Create your avatar and target your ideal customer persona in the right way!