How Do You Define Your Customer?

This is probably the n^th time when the importance of a customer is being discussed yet all over again. The entire world runs on the simplest of concepts- every company needs customers. This is as easy to understand as it is difficult to actually implement. Businesses fall into the trap of targeting the wrong audience as their customers, and eventually pay for it heavily in the form of losses. So, how does one understand their customers and target the right ones for their products and services? This article is going to give a fair idea on how to go about recognizing the right customer for your organization/company/business. Read on to find out more:

1. What are you solving?

In marketing, it is important that you understand your company so well that you not only know the solutions that you are selling, but also the various problems that your customers may have with respect to your products/services or in general. If you know what you are solving, the answer comes a tad more naturally. This will help you in the advanced stages of identifying your customer base/target audience for you.

2. Paint your customer.

This is one of the most interesting stages of this procedure. Paint a picture of your ideal customer for reference. Take in consideration all of the problems that your customer may be facing, all the things that your customer likes or dislikes.

Start by grouping them into different categories according to your needs and expectations. Which area are you aiming at? What is the geographical location of a certain set of people? Are these people married or single? Are there more females in a certain area than males? The more specific you are with your research, the better the results will be.

3. Gauge your market

What is it that you are offering to your customers? Is it relevant to the people you are aiming at? Moreover, how are your customers going to like your products/services keeping in mind the research data you have with respect to your customers’ likes and dislikes? These are some of the questions that need to be tackled very carefully.

You can’t hope to sell lipsticks to children and still expect your products to actually sell. Similarly, you shouldn’t ideally be aiming the females if your product is an aftershave. Do you get the drift? You have to know yourself and what you are offering on order to reach the right customer. It is always more beneficial to know your areas of expertise. Do you know the areas you excel at as a company? Where your products/services are mostly sold at? Do you have a stronger retail presence or online presence? Do you some specific domain knowledge or some extra knowledge about a particular geographical location and its climate? A lot of these things help in the long run and, of course, in understanding your customer really well.