Increasing profit by understanding your customer

Understanding your customers is the key to ensuring you are reaching them affectively without wasting time, money or resources. Which is why it was exciting to have Success Coach Ruth Ferreira come to our Churchill Square Business Centre at the end of last year, as part of The West Kent Business support programme which is funded by the UK Government. Invest West Kent worked in collaboration with Smarter Society’s to bring our customers this free business support and networking event.

Reaching your target audience

Targeting your ideal client through personalised marketing campaigns can be difficult if you do not actually know who your client is. Ruth explains: “We need to know what motivates them, what they are looking for and what they need to hear so we can tailor our messaging accordingly.”

Many businesses adopt a ‘spray and pray’ approach to marketing with one promotional message conveyed to all potential new clients, instead of delivering targeted messaging specific to each audience: “You may have more than one target market, which means your messaging needs to be tailored to each one.” By taking the time to better understand your client, you generate the opportunity for better leads and in turn, better results. “The more you understand them, the longer you will keep them as a happy client,” said Ruth.

How to understand the ideal client

There are a number of tools available to help you understand your ideal client. The Boston Consulting Matrix is useful in helping you identify the following four customer profiles within your business and how to respond to them:

1. Low value, low enjoyment customers – not worth investing your time and money into
2. Low value, but high enjoyment customers – if you help them grow their business, they will bring value to you
3. High value, low fun customers – although these clients bring money into your business, the working relationship can be a pain point. As a business owner, be honest and explain why the relationship is difficult at times, but this comes with the risk of losing them as a client
4. High value, high enjoyment customers – these are the ideal clients and businesses should devote their time and money into them.

Building a customer profile

Once you have identified your ideal client, you need to build up a customer profile of their characteristics, lifestyles and behaviours. These are some of the questions you could consider when building this profile:

• What size company do they work in?
• Is it owner managed and how many staff work in it?
• Do they own their own premises, work in a business park or co-working space?
• Do they operate remote/hybrid or local/global teams?
• Who are the decision-makers i.e. the owner/director
• Who are the background decision makers i.e. does the PA or executive assistant have a lot of sway and therefore need to be included in the marketing campaign or call?
• Where do they live? I.e. city/countryside
• What choices do they make? i.e. car model, type of phone, preferred supermarket; size of house etc
• What is their demographic? Age/married/parents?
• What social media platform are they on?
• Are they time poor? If so, does your marketing include the message you can alleviate stress?
• What is the biggest irritation when it comes to your industry?
• Where do they hang out in their spare time?
• What networking groups are they a part of?
• What type of sports do they play?

Once you have answered these questions or similar, you can create avatars of your ideal customer. Ruth suggests using Canva graphics or Google images, which you can then print out to ensure they are always at the front of mind when you are creating a marketing campaign.

It is information such as this which enables you to craft targeted marketing campaigns consistent with your brand and values, whether it is on your website, or attending a networking event. Your messaging should, “make people feel they need your product or service,” said Ruth.

Social proof as a marketing tactic

Another important way of generating leads is with social proof and positive word of mouth referrals. It is this form of marketing that attracts like-minded individuals and helps build a community who will advocate on your behalf.

What’s more, this is a free form of marketing, which helps you build a loyal following, so don’t overlook it when trying to reach your target audience.