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Are you looking for PR ideas? Or maybe suggestions on how you can market your business? Or even how to sell more? Do Your Own PR has gathered together a team of experienced business authorities to bring you their expert tips on running and promoting your business. We aim to update on a regular basis so bookmark us now to keep coming back to articles that can help make your business grow.
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How To Target the Right Customers
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by Adi Gaskell of www.webvideo4u.co.uk
Targeting the right customer is one of the most important aspects of a successful online business. The right customer is of course the customer that directly affects the bottom line. For instance American Airlines targets its Web site at its most loyal customers: its AAdvantage frequent flyers. Numerous other companies have shown the value of targeting the right customer and your business can emulate their success.
There are a number of steps you'll need to take to achieve this however:
Know who your customers and prospects are
The first step is to know who your end customers, and your prospective customers, are and then to learn as much about them as possible. From websites to email there are numerous technologies available to help you learn about your customers. Offer them incentives to indentify themselves to you. You'll be suprised how much information customers will willingly volunteer if they think you actually care! The important thing is to never betray their trust. Never send things they havn't asked for or divulge their information to third parties.
Find out which customers are profitable
Of course some of your customers will be more profitable than others. Analyse the profits created by each customer segment and also look at the costs to service that customer segment and be sure to look at the lifetime value of these customers. How much profit will a certain customer segment generate over its lifetime, measured in increased sales, lower costs of doing business, referrals, and higher profit margin business?
Decide which customers you want to attract (or keep from losing)
Think about which new customers you want to target and which ones you want to keep from defecting. How can you take advantage of the WebVideo4U technology to cost-effectively attract them and keep them happy?
Know which customers influence key purchases
A customer isn't always the person who fills in the order. Often the real customer is the person who influences key purchases. Who influences the purchase of your products? How do you track them, communicate with them, and ensure that they have accurate, timely information about your products and services.
Find out which customers generate referrals
Satisfied customers are your best source of referalls and by far your cheapest source of new customers. Make it attractive for current customers to recommend new customers. A personalised incentive could be one of the best marketing strategies available to you. What are you doing to generate referrals from your customer base? How could you use the information technology better to track and stimulate the referral process?
Don't confuse customers, partners, and stakeholders
There are many people that are vital to your business, but not all of them are customers. It's important to differentiate between end customers (consumers of your products) and partners or stakeholders. This isn't to say that you should ignore partners and stakeholders, but they should come second in your thinking about how to make life easier for the end customer. If you get into the head of your customers, you'll be better able to help your partners and stakeholders streamline the business processes that impact your customers.
Are you clear about who your end customers are? Can you find ways to serve them better while improving your relationship with your channel partners and other key stakeholders at the same time? If you focus on the customer without ignoring the needs of all the rest of the key stakeholders required in the relationship, chances are you'll make the right decisions for the long term.
Adi Gaskell has worked in the Internet industry for the last five years and is currently CEO of www.WebVideo4U.co.uk a streaming media development company.
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| Posted: 15/03/2005 13:17:55
Last Updated: 15/03/2005 14:14:59
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