Your Brand Isn’t for Everyone
Do you know who your customer is? Are you familiar with the needs, wants, hopes and dreams of the people who buy your product or service? A lot of companies make the mistake of thinking, “We’re for everyone!” when that isn’t really the case. If you’re for everyone, then you’re for no one.
Big brands like Wal-Mart, Target and McDonald’s may seem like they are for everyone, but they know their customers have specific qualities. They spend a lot of time and money to make sure they understand their customers and then direct their marketing efforts to them. Exclusionary? Not really. Why waste effort trying to gain customers that aren’t interested?
It’s like when I was in high school. I tried out for pom poms every year. Every year. Each spring I practiced my little heart out, thinking this would be my year. And due to my boney legs and general lack of coordination, I never made the cut. My energy would have been much better spent being part of a club that wanted and excepted me. But I’m not bitter …
The point is to make sure you as a business person aren’t wasting time waving your pom poms at someone who isn’t interested in what you have to offer. Spend time defining your customer in as much detail as possible. Don’t be vague! Once you’ve defined demographic criteria you can dig deeper. Here are some questions to get you thinking:
What keeps your customer up at night?
What does your customer want? What do they wake up wanting?
When your customer is at their computer trying to solve their problem, what words and phrases are they using to search?
Why do potential customers seek you out? What are they looking for?
What is your customer looking for when they go “shopping” for a product or service like yours?
There aren’t any wrong answers, of course, but it is important to give answers that are based in fact. Bonus points if you are able to interview or survey your customers; you might gain even greater insights into what makes them tick. This type of information gathering and analysis should always be occurring at your company. It’s an exercise that has no end because you will always learn something new.
One you understand your customer to the best of your ability, you can design your marketing in a way that speaks to them—their wants, their fears, their dreams and their aspirations. This will help set you apart in a noisy, crowded marketplace, because customers will feel seen and understood.