Too many companies fail to expand simply because they do not know the profile of their ideal customer. It is very easy for a start-up to build the company around a few customers they use to launch the business, without really understanding the wider market.
There are two key drivers to a successful sale and a happy customer. Te first is that the prospective customer must have a need or a problem and probably be suffering some pain without your solution. In addition, they must like you enough to want to do business with you (something we will cover in a late posting). Unless you are in the unlikely situation of monopolizing a market segment, there will always be a competitor ready to take over your prospect.
So you need to sit down and think through some questions about your market:
- what pain or needs are your customers like to be suffering?
- how does you company address those needs?
- what benefits will a customer get from buying from you?
- why would they buy from you rather than a competitor?
- what is likely to be the main concern of a customer? Is your price competitive? Can you always deliver on time? Are you reliable?
Assuming you have staff, run a brainstorming session to get their opinions on how the company should be finding its customers. You might be surprised at the answers. If that is not appropriate, ask your family and friends for their input.
Finally, write a summary and pin it on the wall so you keep being reminded of your ideal customer profile. It will come in handy when we get to discuss some marketing tactics later.