Tweet

Can you satisfy these customer segments or who wants You?

Guest post by: Joe Dager

Article Overview: Not every segment can be profitable to you. Not every segment is worth the risk. You must remember what allows you to make margin and not try to be someone that you are not. You may want to look at it this way, Who want's you?

Can you satisfy these customer segments or who wants You?

This is part 2 of a 3 part series on Determining your customer perspective - Can you satisfy these customer segments?

As I mentioned previously, all customers behave and act differently. The personal contact that they receive from your organization should certainly attempt and make them feel that way. However, at some point and time you do have to segment and organize them. I use the Duct Tape Marketing Hourglass as my guideline in determining that structure. You can read more about that in my Ebook on the Pillars of the Lean Marketing House. In developing your marketing or sales channels, you must also determine if you can satisfy the segments that your organization wants to compete in.

Think about what is important for customer satisfaction. Is it, on time delivery, production cycle time, conformance, warranty clams, etc. Many segments require more hand holding before, during and after the sale. Others may require a little more customization. These metrics are extremely important when you are considering marketing to them. You want to align their expectations accordingly to what you can deliver. Be careful, many times to get the order in these segments you may promise more than you can deliver, never a good scenario for either party.

How much does it cost to market to this particular segment? Will you have to advertise through certain media, attend certain trade shows, additional fewer sales or technical support expenditures? And of course, how price sensitive is this segment? You may find certain segments prefer to buy online, through distribution or even direct. These sales cannot and should not contradict each other but be part of an overall marketing strategy. Without, price confusion, dealer erosion and mixed messages will send alarms to a customer that will certainly if not make it impossible, much more difficult in the sales process. You may be better off excluding a certain market segment.

Channel Management is one of the areas that I find as one of the most mismanaged areas in the marketing process. The particular way you go to market can vary the volume and timing of purchases. It even can effect after sales service and maybe an ingredient that is sometimes forgotten, customer loyalty. Many times you will find that the loyalty is stronger with your distribution source than your product. On another hand, an online purchase will seldom develop deep customer loyalties. There is nothing right or wrong about any situation just be sure you recognize the situation for what it is.

Can each of these segments have a different price for the same product or service? Unless you package the product differently it is very difficult to do that. Also, you have to make sure your distribution structure is compensated adequately. Failure to do so will cause that source to be always on the outlook for another alternative. They may build a need for your product within their clientele and then supply a competitor's product through no fault of their own. Pricing issues must be dealt with before you enter each different segment of the marketplace. Many times by adding services or financing in these segments, you can provide revenue to offset the additional expenses. Don't forget to ask you distribution source for ideas. They may have current financial packages that they would gladly utilize already in place.

Not every segment can be profitable to you. Not every segment is worth the risk. You must remember what allows you to make margin and not try to be someone that you are not. You may want to look at it this way, Who want's you?

Related Articles
  What do your prices say about your business?
  Martial Arts Marketing
  HOW TO MAKE YOUR WEBSITE GET LIFE CUSTOMERS
  Lead Generation Best Practices: Segment & Test Your Market
  Understanding Your Evolving Markets

Article Tags: customer segments, segment, worth the risk



Related Forum Posts
Re: Who hates cold calling? - Why anyone would use cold calling is beyond me. It's simply an ineffective tactic and a waste of time when you measure conversion rate. If you really understanding your customer segments and how your products and services provide value, there are many more effective strategies than cold calling.
Re: Google Social Search - Important Update From Google - Google are always all out to satisfy their clients and make money in the process. This is a welcome development in the right direction.
Your Riskiest Business Decision - Greetings All I was just thinking about my own Graphic Design business and how I've made risky decisions in the past. One of these decisions involved taking on a long term, full time contract at the expense of losing new and existing clients for the next 2 years, as well as having to satisfy existing clients on the weekends. Would the contract kill my entire freelance business after 2 years? Would it be worth it? As I'm nearing the end of the 2 year contract and I would have to say that it's paid off. This is because I managed to run my own business on the side (weekends) to retain most of my existing clients so when/if I decide to go back to full time freelancing I won't have to start from the beginning again. In saying this I would like to know of any risky business decisions that you have made and whether it paid off or not? My 2 year contract decision did pay off but I also lost two good clients because I did not have the time to efficiently satisfy their requests.
Re: Social Media Effectively? - First brand that comes to my mind is "Sephora". For those of you that may not be familiar with Sephora; it is THE superstore of cosmetics, beauty and skin products. Most of their products are targeted to women, but there are great lines for men as well. I have been a loyal customer to Sephora for a long time. What has impressed me the most about Sephora is that they provide a consistent level of high quality service both on the web and offline. The offline and online experience of a customer is completely integrated. It means that, for example if I purchase a product at the physical store, a few days later I would receive a follow-up email from Sephora. See how the whole purchase experience transcended from the store to the net. The follow-up emails would ask you to rate the products that you purchased, or write a review on their website, which has become one of the biggest community of skin care and beauty product users. By doing this you are eligible to receive free samples at the store- Sephora is driving their customers right back to the shop. In my opinion, the seed of Sephora's huge success is their consistency in service. When it comes to generating interest and awareness, social media marketing can be highly effective, but if what you are offering falls short on the customers' expectations and is unable to satisfy their interests, they would most likely to never come back. Something to think about before executing social media strategies..
Starting a New Business - Congratulations on the first step of deciding to create your own business. First, you have to ascertain if you are going to be selling your products or services to people or to businesses. People purchase products and services for three basic reasons: •To satisfy basic needs •To solve problems •To make themselves feel good. You have to determine which of these three categories your product or service is the solution to. Businesses, unlike individuals, buy products and services for three reasons as well: •To increase revenues •To maintain the status quo •To decrease expenses. Knowing the reasons why people/businesses buy, you should have a picture emerging of who you think your "Target Market" (or ideal customer) is. Once you have zeroed in on your solution, you are ready to create your Marketing Strategy. If you look at any company that has grown rapidly over the past few years, (i.e. WestJet and Starbucks), it should demonstrate to you the importance of Marketing. In simple terms these companies have: •Clearly defined what makes them different; •Who their ideal customer is; •How to reach them; •Why customers should buy from them; •And most importantly why customers should come back again. It is strong Marketing Awareness that singles out the best companies. I can not stress enough how important it is to create a "living" Marketing Plan before you even start. I hope this helps a little in the creation of your plan. All the very best of luck. Remember: "A Goal without a Plan is just a Wish" Miles of Smiles, Marketing Maven


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

3 Key Factors For Raising Capital

4 Steps To Hypnotize Your Business Prospects

The Right Job - Part Five 'Compensation'

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.