If you want to succeed in business , you must be MARKET DRIVEN , which means you first determine the client you want , THEN build the service and business that will deliver something to them they can ’ t get anywhere else , that they truly would want to buy .
While I ’ m completely for understanding industry norms and how most others deliver business , I ’ m against BLINDLY CONFORMING to such norms . No breakthroughs come from that type of thinking . You must constantly ask yourself , what will my chosen target market buy ? What do they want that they aren ’ t getting now ? Uber was able to take a HUGE piece of business away from taxis because they eliminated a number of irritants people had with rude , smelly , difficult cab drivers . Yes , they have other problems they are dealing with today , but overnight , they stole a giant chunk of business away from the cab industry .
Starbucks crushed Dunkin ’ NOT because they had better coffee but because they created the “ third place ,” delivering an experience where coffee was just part of the equation — NOT by focusing on making better coffee , which Dunkin ’ is still trying to promote with their stupid ads with Santa Claus hanging around someone ’ s house because they have Dunkin ’ coffee .
8 . 9 . 10 .
What are their buying criteria for what you sell ? How “ savvy ” of a buyer are they ?
What other characteristics make them a good client ?
Where do they get their information ? What associations do they belong to ? What conferences do they attend ?
How do you get such information ? Well , demographics are easy . You just have to compile the data about all HVCs and take a look at what they have in common . It might not be number of employees or industry ( niche ) but age , years in business , type of client served , etc .
Psychographics are only obtained by interacting with them on a level that goes beyond fixing computers . You have to have real business conversations with them , asking them key questions such as “ What are the top 3 – 5 KPIs you watch in your business ?” or “ What are your greatest fears about your industry as a whole ?” which is a better way of asking , “ What are you most afraid of ?” which they may not answer .
QUIZ TIME
Here ’ s a pop quiz to see just how much you really know about your clients . I would suggest you think about your HVCs , or “ high-value clients ,” as you go through these questions to see how much you know about them . If you can ’ t instantly and confidently say what the answer is , you have work to do .
1 .
2 .
3 .
4 . 5 . 6 .
7 .
What are the most common demographics of your HVCs ? ( These are data points such as industry , size of company , geographic location , number of employees , clients they serve , etc .)
What are the shared psychographics of your HVCs ? ( These are things like core values , mindset , buying preferences , value hierarchy , political views , etc .)
What are the most common situations / problems that drive them to seek out your services ? ( Hint : This should be the focus of marketing communications , including your website . “ Are you a _________ struggling with _________?”)
What are their primary goals ? What KPIs are they focused on ?
What are the top three biggest problems they struggle with and against in their business ?
What trends are happening that affect them either negatively or positively ?
You should also read industry publications for trends and subscribe to the social media sites they frequent , reading the threads and conversations they have in their “ natural habitat .” Talk to other successful salespeople who sell to those same clients ( just make sure it ’ s a successful salesperson ) but are non-competitive with you . Find out what objections they get and what hot buttons they sell to .
Finally , you have to get out of the “ box ” you ’ re in of thinking you ’ re “ just ” a business . With an open mind , you might find big opportunities for unmet needs within your client base that you can work to develop a solution for and profit from .
I ’ ve often said if the sales letter is hard to write , the product is flawed . I would add if the person selling the product CAN ’ T write the sales letter because they don ’ t know anything about the client TO write it , the CEO and business strategy are flawed . n
WWW . IT-RADIX . COM | 23