Time is a finite resource. There are not so many hours in a day that we can be active and productive. Once that time is gone, we roll onto the next day, where hopefully, we get to be just as dedicated and productive.
The same concept can be applied to people. When working in sales, it’s often necessary to ‘de-humanize’ people to develop winning strategies. People in the business are a resource. The same way time can run out, people are a finite resource, too. Why? Well, if you treat your clients badly or fail to meet clients’ general expectations, these people will stop coming. Fewer people mean fewer sales, which inadvertently leads to fewer profits. Low profits signal the end of a successful business.
Resource allocation is an important skill that many people forget to make use of. As we have already established, people are a resource — just as time and money. So how do you juggle between different, yet very important, parts of one whole?
The key to building a customer profile and understanding resource management is to differentiate between what is valid and what is not. As a young business professional, you need to learn that not everyone will be included in your customer profile and that not every sale means profit. You can’t market to everyone. You need to focus your resources on expansion and retention. A return customer means that someone judged your business good enough to return and purchase more; returning customers mean a higher chance of bringing additional clientele with them.
What is an ideal customer?
We can classify customers into transient and ideal. Transient customers are those people that visit your business and purchase (or use a service) but do not contribute to any further expansion. As a seller, you have little to no control over this type of customer. Usually, transient customers see an ad and visit your business out of curiosity. They purchase something and then do not return for more. Additional promotional offers or future products do not sway transient customers. As far as the circle of marketing is concerned, their contribution ends at the initial purchase.
An ideal customer is a combination of factors; it is someone who:
- Understands your brand;
- Is within the demographic of your brand;
- Has purchased a product from your brand in the last six months;
- Has a high chance of returning to your business;
- Has a high chance of introducing your brand to other users;
Unlike a transient customer, an ideal customer is someone who makes a purchase and interacts with your brand. This interaction can come in the form of using Twitter to post a good review or mentioning your business on Facebook. It can also imply talking about your product to friends or family, thus expanding your marketing circle. Unfortunately, word of mouth is one of the cheapest and hardest advertising campaigns to upkeep. It relies on the quality of the products and services, as well as on a buyer’s personal opinion.
An ideal customer is the holy grail of business marketing. But chasing after them will only set your business up for failure. Instead, acquiring ideal customers should be an organic process that cannot be done with malicious thoughts in mind. Ideal customers should be the result of good service and a good product, rather than the consequence of a marketing scheme.
Sales Voice
When considering your business, you need to ask yourself an important question: what am I selling? The answer to this question will show if your business is mature enough to succeed.
Your sales voice comes from the general idea of your business. No matter if you are selling fish tacos or used books, your potential buyers need the right inspiration and motivation. Do not attempt to emulate successful business tactics. While drawing inspiration is good, completely copying someone else’s idea will only lead to disappointment. You are your own person, and your idea for a business will normally differ from someone else’s. While another’s strategy might work for their own brand, it might look ridiculous on yours. You cannot take someone’s style and instantly become successful just like they did.
Just as you are a unique individual, your business is a living, breathing organism that is equally unique. Try to identify what your passions are and target them towards breathing personality into your brand. This personality can come from many places:
- Think about what made you get into this line of work;
- Ask yourself: would you buy this product?
- Would you recommend your product to your friends and family?
- Analyze clear, achievable, and actionable goals for the future.
How to build an ideal customer profile?
Building an ICP is an ongoing process – there isn’t a tutorial online that universally matches every business. If you’ve done your homework, now you know what the goals for your business are and what customers will organically be drawn to your brand. From all those customers, it’s easy to identify which are simply regulars and which customers will end up being part of your ICP.
Step 1: Describe Your Ideal Customer
The first step in building an ICP is simple – using your brand and products that you sell, describe what a perfect customer would look like for you. This step depends wildly on the type of business that you own: electronics, construction, etc. However, every type of business has a perfect customer that they would like to do business with. Here are three examples of ideal customers for three different business models:
- An ideal customer for a mobile company would be someone who buys a new phone every year and subscribes to a lucrative data plan. They spend anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 dollars per year on electronics and software features and prefer to receive their support from one company. They do not like change and prefer that their existing mobile phone is upgraded to a new model rather than buy a new brand.
- An ideal customer for a bakery would be someone who stops by at least 3 times a week and buys locally baked goods. They prefer to eat organic rather than buy products from large supermarket chains. While they don’t spend much on a daily basis, they usually make orders for personalized items such as birthday cakes and celebratory baked goods.
- An ideal customer for a hotel franchise would be someone from the business sector who stays in their hotel chain twice a year – once as a part of a business conference and once as part of their holiday. They enjoy the facilities of the hotel and make sure to book their stay months in advance.
When thinking of your perfect customer, it’s important to understand what your competition is up to. We recommend reading an article on Total Addressable Market to understand different marketing trends and educating yourself on targeting the right market for your business.
Step2: Talk to Your Existing Customers
Examine your existing customers and try to analyze what your top contributors have in common. Top contributors in a business would be those who spend the most money and have shown loyalty to the brand.
Define as many common attributes between your top customers as you can. These attributes will be used to construct your ICP. Some desired Ideal Customer attributes you need to look out for include:
- Spending habits;
- Frequent visits;
- Association with the brand;
- Social standing;
Step 3: Use the data you have collected and create the ICP
Using the information you have gathered from Step 1 and Step 2, write down the most common attributes that you have observed in your customers. Use the customer model you created in Step 1 to identify how your idea of a perfect customer matches your existing customers. Underline the differences and try to understand what your business needs to achieve to better match your perfect vision of a customer.
Key ICP Attributes include:
- Revenue;
- Budget;
- Geographical Location;
- Type of Industry;
- Size of the company;
- Number of customers;
You can write down your ICP on a piece of paper or in specialized software – it doesn’t really matter. An Ideal Customer Profile is simply a business fantasy of what an existing brand wants its customers to be. What is important is taking the necessary steps from understanding what your goals are to making them a reality. Once you have figured ICP out, you can start searching for prospects and motivate them to become your loyal customers. It is an ongoing process that requires time and dedication.
Image source: pixabay.com
