It’s not unusual for an entrepreneur to consider “everyone” a potential customer.
While that optimism can be exciting and contagious, the harsh reality is that most of “everyone” isn’t the right potential customer.
Many people will never buy from you, and some who become customers won’t be a great fit. They may be unhappy, and they may even hurt your business by damaging your reputation or mistreating your employees.
That’s the bad news.
The good news? While it may sound counterintuitive, concentrating on a smaller number of potential customers can help you grow faster, make more money, and have more fun.
Time and again, I’ve seen clients who focus 100% of their proactive sales and marketing efforts on their ideal prospects get a bigger return from every dollar they spend.
Define Your Target Market
The key is understanding the demographic, geographic, and psychographic profile of your ideal customer. We call this a company’s Target Market™: a clear, simple description of its ideal customer.
- Demographic describes who your ideal customers are.
- Geographic defines where they are.
- Psychographic explains how they think, act, and feel—including what they appreciate, what they value, and what motivates them to buy.
The demographic and geographic profiles often roll off the tongues of our clients. Clarifying the psychographic profile is what uncovers the real magic and value.
Focus on the Right Customers
The psychographic profile of our ideal client at EOS Worldwide is a leadership team that is:
- Growth-oriented
- Entrepreneurial
- Frustrated
- Open-minded
- Respectful
- Appreciative
- Willing to accept help
Without the clarity this definition provides, we could target five times as many companies as we currently do.
If a leadership team doesn’t fit this psychographic profile, we are less likely to be able to help them, and it becomes more likely that someone will end up unhappy. When a team has most or all of these qualities, it is our opportunity to shine.
So, who is your Target Market, and what is its psychographic profile?
Think about your best client relationships. What motivates them? What is their mindset? Why are they easier to work with?
Compare those qualities with the attributes of your most difficult clients or customers. What are the key differences? After some reflection, you’ll likely find that a few shared psychographic characteristics are at the core.
Stay True to Your Target Market
Once you’ve identified the psychographic profile of your ideal customer, combine it with the demographic and geographic characteristics to define your Target Market—“The List” of customers on which you will focus your sales and marketing energy.
Add this definition to the Marketing Strategy section of your Vision/Traction Organizer™ (V/TO™) and use it to guide your sales and marketing efforts.
When you stay true to your Target Market, it gets exciting. You’ll begin:
- Identifying better prospective customers
- Aligning your marketing and sales efforts
- Bringing on more ideal customers
- Upgrading your existing customer base
- Generating more referrals within your Target Market
It’s a process. The more your customer base consists of people in your ideal Target Market, the more referrals you’ll receive from similar customers.
You’re going to get more of what you already have. What kind of customers do you want more of?
