Archive for Ideal client
How I would Market your Company? – Step 4 of 10
Posted by: | CommentsYou want me to start marketing your company today. Here is what I would do:
4. Create a list we can interview that makes up your buyer, present, past and NEVER. Oh, yes, interview them.
This is normally a huge stumbling block. People time and time again want to build their marketing strategies and tactics within their own four walls. Marketing is about customer communication. So if you’re going to build a plan to do that, you must start at the very beginning, communicating with them. And it is important to get a complete mix, including the ones that don’t buy.
It’s simply not about you, your customer does not care about you and many of the points you’re trying to get across in your present marketing material. He simply cares about who demonstrates best how they can make him more money or make his life easier.
Interviewing people outside the company is scary to many. Typically, companies will agree to a survey of some type. But to leave an outside organization call and communicate with their customers is seldom acceptable. But I would encourage someone other in the organization to talk to these people rather than someone they communicated with them during the sales process. People will continue thinking that it is sales tactic or a type of sales trying to solicit information from them and will answer accordingly. It either takes an independent firm or someone that can assure them that it’s got nothing to do with sales or the judgment of an individual. It has everything to do with the system.
Have you struggled defining your Ideal Client – Find out how
Posted by: | CommentsIf this does not resonate with you, than you have 50% of your marketing problems solved. I just simply struggle with this subject more than any other, when I am implement a marketing system with a client. Finding Your Ideal Client, what is so tough about this? Can you define yours? If you have a group of clients, what is the difference between your successful ones and unsuccessful ones. I am defining success is your ability to work with them and produce results. 
But many of my clients come to me because they are in trouble or starting up. The first question I always ask is, Who is your ideal client and What is your target market? The second question – Who is not and What is not? After that, I know if I can help them or not. If they cannot define either question, we are in trouble, because I must convince them it is not everybody.
However, I ran across an exercise the other day through a nonprofit site that I thought was excellent. Now, I have modified it and have given credit below but take a look at this process and see if it helps you:
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Accept that your target audience is smaller than you think: That’s right, just accept the fact that it is not the world. Maybe, if you are limited geographically that would be start. But acceptance is the key right now.
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How many people do you need: Do you need all of China or just one province. What will it take me to be successful? If it is just 1 new customer a week that would mean a certain number of contacts per week would be needed. Looking at your sales cycle, think through the process. If to get 1 customer it takes 5 presentations a week. To get 5 presentations it takes 25 direct contacts a week which takes activity of 100 leads per week. You are just taking a simple sales cycle, putting numbers and time to it.
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Focus on the ones you can persuade: Start looking at the people that will buy into your product or service. Lets face, trying to sell something to someone that is going to make his life/job more difficult is tough. Pick you battles with the people that have the most need for your product.
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Segment till you can’t segment anymore: What is important? What is not? As you segment, peoples buying patterns become very apparent. I always find this part of the exercise fascinating. You start creating the actual value that you give to a customer in this segment. But on the other hand, you may actually see where certain segments that seemed completely different actually have commonality.
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If not the same person, target audience with most influence over decision maker: Sometimes early in the process, you cannot reach the decision maker effectively and must start with another person. Of the people you could start with, which one will eventually have the most effect over the decision maker? Why not start your marketing efforts here?
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Find distribution sources: There is nothing that can bring numbers more quickly to the table than distribution and affiliations. We could include networking into this group but my experience is that networking does not bring large numbers and really fits more into the channels above. Distribution and affiliation is where the true mass of numbers are. Consider who has the contacts to bring you the type of customers that you have described above.
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Find an audience that will show and voice support: Are there certain groups that may have a strong reason to support your product or services. Should they be marketed to in a different manner than an individual or organization that intends to purchase the product. These groups could prove very powerful for you or even someone that could influence regulation or public support.
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Test target before launch: Your perception may be wrong. Don’t build an entire marketing plan and strategy around your perception or your team’s perception. You must go out and test the waters. Try your theories out, now is the time to be wrong. Offer some incentives that could accelerate people through your marketing cycle so that you can gauge your end result.
This information was based on a study I read that was a combined effort of the Communications Leadership Institute, www.communicationsleadership.org and the Spitfire Strategies, www.spitfirestrategies.com. And of course, it has been duct taped!
Referral Process Explained – Step 2 of 7
Posted by: | CommentsStep 2 = Your Ideal Referral Client
Service, Product, Retail, Construction, Professional services, Employee, and Volunteer … it doesn’t matter. A referral system should include 7 basic steps that helps you identify and succeed in ways you never imagined. The principles are outlined in a 7-step process that we will communicate this week in leading up to Referral Week. It is the basic understanding on how to apply the Referral Flood program to Your Business or Organization .
Step #2 – Identify your ideal referral client – In order to receive high quality referrals you must be able to quickly communicate the exact type of person or business that has the ability to make great referrals. That is not hard, is it. Anyone that breathes and you have met. If you convey that message I can assure you will get exactly what you ask for, and you better be careful. But if you can identify exactly what makes an ideal referral client there will be the synergy needed to make a referral.
What is different about a Referral Client:
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It may not be your best customer or your best vendor. It is the person that knows "your ideal client" best.
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It always helps if the company or person that refers you is famous. I am not talking sports hero or anything but the better known may establish great credibility for yourself.
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They need to have a built in reason to motivate you. It is still about what’s in it for me.
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Is there a way that you can motivate them that requires little effort on your part to fulfill.
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They need to have the ability to repeat the process. Just because they know 1 person that might buy is not reason enough to build a system around.
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A natural connection point to your organization. If you have to work to have a dialog, both of you will not be active enough to make it work.
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You need to be important to them. There has to be a reason that they have your best interest at heart.
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Use social media to make contacts and follow-ups. It is a different animal, but it is an important to distinguish.
Ok, simply stated Ideal would mean: A Star with a wealth of contacts that would be willing to give them to you freely. That is ideal.
