“A fisherman went to a sporting goods store, The salesman offered him a lure for bass, painted eyes, hooks and imitation bugs. The fisherman asked: ‘do fish like this stuff?’ The salesperson responded: ‘I don’t know; I don’t sell to fish.'” Joe Griffith
It is a mistake to think you intuitively know who your customers are, where they are, and how many there are. To succeed you must reach the right market, and if you think you are too busy to find out about your market, maybe you are courting failure.
Who Are They? Wealthy entrepreneurs do know!
Can you visualize what your average customers are like? Are they other business firms? Government agencies or institutions? Individual consumers? What ages? Are they married? Do they have children? Is it important? What are their interests and/or hobbies? What education do they have? What profession or occupation is most common? Are religious or political ties important? What habits do they have? How do they spend their money? What do they want from life? While you may not have the answers to all such questions, you should have some understanding of your customers and why they buy what they do.
And you probably do. But, if you have not crystallized your thoughts about your customers, you should before planning any advertising or promotions. You may find it helpful to create a profile (in your mind or on paper) of how you perceive your average customer. As you develop your product, your service, plan your location, or create the theme of your business; the image or profile of your average customer must influence your plans.
Where Are They?
Even if you know who they are, you should know where they are. If you do not, how are you going to contact them? Do they live in a specific area or town-/city? Are they city-dwellers, suburbanites, rural folk? Are they clustered, or widespread? Are they local, regional, or national – even international?
The major fast food chains spend substantial research dollars to determine the right locations for their outlets. They know they need to go to where their customers are. Major retailers of all types understand the importance of location. Look at the depressing “downtown” shopping areas in many of our cities. Successful retailers followed the population to the suburbs. Now many of our neighbors are leaving the suburbs for rural areas – with new stores right behind them.
“Where are they?” means understanding their media habits so you can reach them. What do they read? Which newspapers? What magazines? Are there any special interest publications they favor? When do they read? Do they bother with local papers and “throwaways?” Do they pay attention to circulars and posters? What is their opinion of “occupant” mail? Which radio and TV programs do they tune in? When do they listen to the radio or watch TV? Are they on the Internet?
How Many Are They?
How big is your market? Will it support your new business? Estimating the size of a market can be a difficult task. Unfortunately, the answers may be no more than educated guesses. If your product or service is new and unique, forecasting the demand with accuracy may be near impossible. Your hunch may be right. However, be cautious of too much reliance on “feelings.” Do whatever you can to verify it.
If you find your estimate of market is smaller than your original projections, rethink your plans. Do not base your expenses and overhead on markets that will not support your business. Plan your business in relationship to the size of your immediate potential market. Long-term forecasts and plans are fine, but you will need a short-term success to stay in business.
Why Do They Buy What They Do?
It is not enough to know who, where, and how many. If you want them to buy your product or service, you must know why they buy what they do. What motivates their buying decisions? Is it price, quality, status, fear, service, security, or some other reason that triggers a positive buying decision?
The motivating forces that cause customers to buy a product are not always visible. Some are complex, some are unconscious, and some we prefer not to admit. Advertising professionals schooled in psychology and consumer behavior know how to tap our inner-psyche to spur us to action. They know how to appeal to our fear of disaster and loss – smoke alarms and fire insurance, for instance. They know how to touch our greed with ads for commodity options. They tell us if we change our hair color, we will find love and romance; that if we use the right after-shave cologne, it will bring us life-long happiness; if we eat the right breakfast cereal, it will bring us health and well- behaved children. Any ad or sales message that ignores the reasons (conscious or unconscious) why customers buy a product or service is information not promotion.
J.P. Morgan once proved that you can motivate nearly anyone if you find his or her “hot button.” His nephew, who was away at college, would never answer letters from his family. Mr. Morgan wrote a letter stating: “Enclosed is a ten dollar bill.” But he purposefully omitted the money. Within days, he received a letter from his nephew, telling him that the ten dollars was not in the envelope.
Article – Copyright 2001 Dr. Paul E. Adams. Syndicated by Paradigm News, Inc.
