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Who Will Buy?

Guest post by: Terri Levine

Article Overview: Learning to identify your customers so you can market to them effectively.

Who Will Buy?

Now that you have a business name and a mission for your business, who is going to buy your services? Have you defined who needs your services and who will benefit from your services?

Going back to my days as an art consultant, I often trained other art consultants and would ask them, "who is going to buy the artwork?" I'd usually get the response that everyone could buy art. I would then say, "Everyone? Would a college student buy the art? Would someone making $8 an hour buy the art? Would someone who is blind buy the art?" The art consultants would look at me with disbelief. They'd say, "Of course a blind person wouldn't buy the art!" My reply would be "exactly." You need to specify who your potential consumer is.

Specifically: who are these people; where do they live, how old are they, how much money do they make, are they male, female, or a particular race; where do they like to hang out; what do they read; do they watch television; what do they watch; do they listen to the radio; what do they listen to?

As soon as you can specifically describe who you are selling your services to, then you will be able to market your services. If you are unable to describe the potential buyers of your service, how will you be able to create a plan to reach them?

If you aren't sure who your target market is and who your ideal customer is, it's time to ask some questions. Begin by speaking with your current customers. Find out as much as you can about their hobbies, interests, income and other personal data that will give you demographic information so that you can market to a similar audience.

When I started my coaching practice, I had clarity around my potential consumers. I knew what income bracket they were in, what profession they were in, what magazines they read, what seminars they typically went to, and what types of books they read. How did I know this? I identified the types of people I wanted to work with and then began surveying those people. Before I had my first CEO as a client, I had already interviewed by phone or by email, over 20 CEOs and knew the general profile of my potential client. Without this information, I would not have known where to advertise or what publication to submit articles to. In order for CEOs to be attracted to coaching, I had to reach those CEOs.

Clearly define who your services are for. If you don't know who they are for, begin by asking, "Who do you know that is the type of client you want to work with?" Ask them information and then find out who else they know so that you can get further information. It's time to begin the process of referral development through networking.

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Article Tags: business, clients, consumers, customers, marketing, small business, target market



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