Every business needs to know and understand your specific audience(s).

Who are they? Will your message speak to them?  Figuring out who you see as your target customer is key in defining your marketing message.  If you chose the wrong message for the right audience you lose potential customers, the right message but the wrong audience and you have wasted time and effort used to create a finely honed message on the wrong group of people.

How do you find that sweet spot? The place where the right message directed to the right customer arrives at exactly the right time?  First you need to understand who you serve. 

Who is your customer?

There is no one customer for any one product but as you begin to look at your customer base, you most likely will begin to see trends.

1. Questions To Ask:

• Do certain products sell better during certain times of the year?
• What are your key hours for certain age groups?
• Do they buy with cash/credit/online?
• Do they promote your brand via social media, who refers customers to you?
• What products are entry points for new customers and first-time purchasers?

Tracking and analyzing who your customer is will help you find the best way to speak to them.  Now you need to look at the all the customers you serve. 

2. Different Types of Customers:

• Existing Customer: Your loyalists, your partner – they are your base.  They support your brand and spread the word organically for you.  Reward them.  If your customer is satisfied and rewarded, they won’t need to look elsewhere.
  • MESSAGE – VIP status
    • Let them be the first to know about upcoming events and special sales. 
    • Offer them incentives for spreading the word about your event via social media and for referrals of new prospective customers.
    • Continually reaffirm their choice and let them feel like they have discovered something special in you and are letting others in on the secret.

• Lost Customer: It’s six to seven times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to keep a current one1 so customer retention is vital.  
  • MESSAGE – We value you and have so many new things to show you!  
    • Why did they leave?  Did they move, did they switch brands, where they dissatisfied with your service/brand/pricing?  Figuring out the why will help you to pinpoint the correct message to draw them back to you.  You don’t want a dissatisfied customer out there so follow up is great here.  
    • Offer an incentive for customers who haven’t purchased recently to bring them back to your brand.   You’ve worked hard to get that customer to your door, your website, your product in the first place– don’t let them leave.  Find out why they haven’t purchases and work to change that.

• Prospective Customer: Your future, your growth – they represent your potential and staying power.  Capture them, educate them and let them.
  • MESSAGE – Get to know us, see what we have to offer, be one of us.
    • Let them in on your secret, the power of your brand.  
    • This is when the power of Events is strong, getting your message out in a captivating, enticing and authentic way is key. Speaking to that new customer, exciting them and pulling them in – the perfect event experience, big or small, leaves an impression.
    • Offer new customer incentives, products samples at Events  They need to get to know our brand and feel the excitement and confidence that they are making a great choice in choosing you.

Capture your audience and share a solid, inspiring and genuine message with them.  Businesses then have the power to confirm the loyalty of existing customers by solidifying their choice in you, to gain new customers by raising awareness for your product and to create a positive buzz for your product in the market.

Sources:
1 White House Office of Consumer Affairs