Finding the right buyer

Marketing to you clients - finding the right target audience

Customer avatar. 

Many new business owners even to this day complain to me about not getting enough customers even after putting up bright hoardings near their shops. The most recent one was a person referred to me by another client. This person sold health equipment.  Although my first question usually is why would they start a business in a place like the one they are located the question itself is to find out the kind of research that had gone into their decision. Unless they are selling mutton kebabs in a predominantly Jain locality, I would not mind any location. With all due respect to the 'location, location, location' quote I have seen shops in narrow lanes doing better than some on the best junction. In fact, I am witness to two leased space diagonally opposite each other on the best location in my area being a jinxed that you will find it put up for hire every year. The old tenants usually went out of business and the new one very hopeful because he now has the prime albeit the must expensive space in the area.

Building the right buyer persona.

Whatever your product your buyer is the one who wants to buy your product. Not to one who you want to sell. Sounds cheeky. It is in a way. When we open shop we would like to see all kinds of customers. Our kind of customers. But many times this is not possible. Is we sell blazers and suits then customers for blazers will walk in. And if we are selling jeans then people who wear jeans will come to us. A businessman well hope everybody under the sun buys from him. This is not possible either. What we need to find is what the customer wants and why.

Who is your customer?

My customer is the person who is savvy, talks slick and stays in touch with the news. But the guy who wants my blazer works in the local hotel at the reception and doesn't care what's happening in the world. He is wearing the blazer only because his boss has made it compulsory and is giving him the allowance to buy the clothes. This guy may want to save some money in the bargain. But here's the catch either ways he wants to look great in his blazer. He would not want to compromise on that. But here is another angle. I don't want to sell to people like that. I want to sell expensive stuff to expensive people. Did we talk about location? For this we need to be at the right place. Where our buyers would like to go out and buy and not be in a place where my buyers would not go. 

Then there is the message. Is my buyer buying for office use or for regular use. Is he young and savvy or happy go lucky casual high flyer or the no nonsense, attention to detail guy.

Attracting the buyer with the right carrot.

There are two types of carrots. One is aspiration and two is fear. Or in other words the good carrot and the bad carrot. The good carrot will include it client for suits a blazers eager to appear trendy to the opposite sex. Or he wants to appear well to do. Or casual not a care for the world person. Or someone who is completely into his work. Like xyz says to Anne Hathaway in the movie 'The Devil wears Prada' that your devil may care attitude look was designed in this very office.' And it is not about guess work but about data. Actual information. You cannot walk into someone's office and pretend to know him. You risk being labelled as a Hustler. 

The bad carrot is fear. That may be just the opposite of his aspiration. Fear that someone will point out a flaw in the suit and label him an impersonator. So if the guy wants to look like this Armani wearing slick go getter but he suit doesn't fit then he has had it. He might as well wear a track suit to the meeting. 

The Apple with the carrot

Once you know your buyer you should know what he likes. This includes things other than your products. Dale Carnegie talks about rapport in his book 'How to make friends and influence people.' he says that the most successful salesmen do not rush in to make the sale but try to find out what their client is interested in and talk about that. He talks of a salesman who was given a few minutes to make his pitch to a wealthy businessman and that guy wasted the time talking about the potential customer's love for xyz. Wasted did I say. He made a friend for life and got orders that he hasn't even expected.

We find that the best way to market ourselves is not to market but make friends. That's the basic idea behind marketing. And that's what I have noticed in many shops. One of my uncles is such a sweet talker that people came to him solely because he smiled and greeted everyone and in some days became a good friend of any customer. The man was not a shop owner but a salesman. He was qualified but a physical ailment restricted his movements. A little experience in a pharmacy shop have him a pharmacy experience. And he usually stuck to that job profile. However, he did change his place of residence frequently. His employers would usually beg him to stay. But I did notice wherever he went he gathered his own'friends' and a visit to meet him at the shop where he would start working would usually mean meeting his new customers. He knew their names, their spouses names and what they did and where they lived. This by a man sitting in a pharmacy and who can hardly move. And that was his strength. He took care of not only talking to the customers with obvious cheer and a feeling of genuine happiness to have met them. That is the trick to get customers and grow your business. And if you believe it may easy for local shops but not big organisations. Then you couldn't be further from the truth. Because social media now gives you a chance to meet everyone and know what they like and dislike.

We live in a time where the market seems to be saturated with any product or service you can imagine. While the competition looks killing it also gives us a chance to know insights about customers in our niche or similar areas. Online e-commerce sites are great places to hang out and listen to praise and criticism about products and services. Since many organisations are using social media to engage customers you can find feedback on products and services the too. Similarly Google reviews too gives valuable insights.

Hang out and see what customers are saying. The good. The bad. Find out how you can use the good to market your product and the bad to tell customers

by Sauban Pathan, Communication Expert. He is a marketing communication adviser and strategist for many organisations.