You believe that you have a great product to sell. There Is no doubt in your mind that lots of people are going to want to buy it. The question is, how do you know this? The answer will tell you why should you define your ideal customer.
What Is The Ideal Customer?
Your first answer to this question will be, “the customer who buys what I am selling.” That’s only part of the answer. There is more to a customer than just making a purchase.
If you get to know who this type of customer is, then you will fully understand the reasons why you need to know who your clients are.
Reason #1:
You’ll Develop a Customer-Based Marketing Strategy
If you are going to build your business, you will have to develop a marketing portfolio. Part of this should include a customer-based marketing strategy. There are two components to this.
Generic Customer-Based Marketing
With this marketing type, you don’t need to know too many specifics about your customers. For example, you may run a marketing campaign where when a customer spends $100, they get a 10% discount on their next order.
Specific Customer-Based Marketing
In this case, your marketing campaign will be geared towards reaching your target market. The products being promoted will be based on specific customer needs.
If you have not defined your ideal customer, you will miss out on an essential marketing tactic. You will not be putting your marketing dollars to their best use.
Reason #2
You’ll Drive Up Customer-Based Value
When you define your ideal customer, you are identifying your primary customers. These are the customers that are going to provide the most business value.
Reason #3
You’ll Learn Your Customer’s Values
When you define your ideal customer, you will learn what their requirements are. For example:
- Do your customers tend to shop for the lowest prices?
- Are your customers high on customer service?
- Is your customer base those who insist on quality over price?
- Do you have customers that don’t know what is most important to them when shopping for an item?
It is possible, and most likely, you will have more than one of these categories of clients. This is no problem, and they can provide benefits to your e-commerce business, such as:
- It gives you a broader target market to cater to. You can bring in product lines that will cater to each of these types of customers.
- It can save you money on inventory and marketing costs for products that do not do well with your target market.
- You can expand your business based on these categories.
This all comes down to customer psychology, and there have been intense studies into this. Which supports the reasons why you should define your ideal customer.
Reason #4
You’ll Develop Unique Selling Propositions
If you are operating an E-Commerce store, you will most likely have competition, which is good. Even if you are selling the same products, there are plenty of customers to go around on the web. You, however, need to know how to attract them to you. This is done by focusing on the USP. You can only do this if you define your ideal customer.
Reason #5
You’ll Stay On Par With Your Competition
There are many different ways to stay on par with your competition and go beyond them. You can do this by identifying changes in your target market. The consumer wants and needs change, and you have to know when this happens and why. Then be further prepared to meet these. For example, if you carry a product that is color orientated. The trend for next year may be an entirely different color. Alternatively, the economy may waiver, and you need to be in a position where you can still meet your customers’ requirements.
Reason #6
Knowledge Development
You need to know what information your customers need to get the best outcome from your products. There is no room for assumptions when operating a business. Your customer may have a primary purpose for purchasing one of your products. But, if you know what other needs your customers may have, then you may be able to find ways that those clients can use the product for that purpose. Knowing your customers will help you understand what knowledge you need to have about your products and how to share this with your clients.
Reason #7
Brand Building
Stability comes with brand building. Defining your ideal customer is going to enhance your brand-building efforts. You want your customers to remember you. If you know what is important to your clients, then you can focus on this by portraying your brand as being one that addresses what is important to them. Customers want to feel confident with the companies they are doing business with. What do your customers need to build their confidence? This will go back to the categories that your customers fall into.
Reason #8
Garnering Repeat Business
If you get to know who your primary customers are, you will be ready to meet their future needs, which is the crux of repeat business. For example, if you sell floor mops, then you at least know that your customers require care for their floors. Your floor mops do a great job of cleaning the floors. You can add to your product line by bringing in some quality floor cleaners. But…if you have defined your target market, you will narrow down which floor cleaners would meet their needs. For example, if you know your target market is working women, they will want a floor cleaner that is quick and easy to use. If your defined market is sensitive to the environment, they will go for cleaners that are eco-friendly.
Summary
You have eight essential reasons as to why you should define your ideal customer. This is just the first phase of using this information to scale up your business. The next step is learning how to define your ideal customer. There are tactics and strategies for doing this. You can save yourself time and money if you rely on the experts to teach you how to do this. This is where we here at the eCommerce boardroom can assist you. You may want to start with our Entrepreneurship 101 module. This course will provide you with all the foundational knowledge you need to build your business.
There are alternatives if you do not have the time to learn this or you don’t feel confident enough. We can take this task on for you with our ecommerce start up package. Why not give us a call to see how we can best meet your needs.
