Uncover Better Sales Leads
Face it, most businesses have a limited amount of dollars to spend on branding and marketing each month. You need to make it count. So, wouldn’t it make sense to find sales prospects that actually become paying, loyal and long-term customers? After all, loyal customers are five times more likely to buy from you again and are four times more likely to recommend you to a friend. So, let’s look at the 3 simple questions you can ask yourself today that can help you discover your best target audience(s).
Look at Your Past, Present and Future Customers
If you want to focus your branding efforts on those who are most likely to purchase from you, you have to uncover your ideal target audiences – those who will be most receptive to your message.
And the best (and easiest) way to do that, is to look at your current business trends.
Ask yourself these three simple questions:
- What sort of customers have purchased from me before? What are the ages, backgrounds, professional status, income levels and locations of your customers? What have they needed and wanted? Are there any similarities they all share?
- Who is likely to purchase from me right now? This comes down to perceived value. Ask yourself, “what problems do I help customers solve?” or “what customers will see value in what I’m doing or offering?”
- What sort of customers would I like to see more of? Are there types of customers you haven’t been reaching, but would like to, because you think they can benefit from your offerings or will see value in doing business with you?
By asking yourself these three questions, you can easily identify the general types of customers that will help your business grow and prosper. And those are the ones you want to target with your branding strategy.
Then, you need to understand how your targets like to be engaged, what content they value, what drives their loyalty and how they like to shop.
Understanding Today’s Common Consumer Behaviours
In the old days, businesses would reach out to sales prospects with messaging and content that was driven around the product or service. The focus was not on the customer’s personal preferences or the overall customer experience. And this business-centric approach to sales still works. But it is not as effective as it once was.
Why? Because modern consumers have become marketing-savvy. Today’s shoppers aren’t as easily influenced by advertising or sales gimmicks. Instead, they are much more likely to trust personal research, word of mouth, customer reviews and social media.
Just look at recent purchasing statistics:
- Among internet-using Canadians, 47% comparison shop online before making a purchase (StatsCan 2015).
- When it comes to influencers, 38% of customers are swayed by reviews, comments or feedback on social media (Euromonitor International, 2017 report).
And 2 out of 10 consumers say they don’t like or trust online ads.
The traditional ways of marketing have become “unappealing and untrustworthy” says Neil Patel, one of today’s top online marketers. 90% of consumers want a more personalized approach to branding and marketing and 80% prefer to do business with a company that offers them a more individualized customer experience.
This poses an interesting dilemma. How do you navigate this ever-changing landscape where people no longer “trust” or “like” traditional ways of marketing?
Today’s shoppers prefer a “customer-centric approach”, says Patel. “Instead of pushing products and hoping someone will buy, a customer-centric business, will craft their messaging, products, and content around the unique needs of their target audience.”
After all, customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable. Just ask Jeff Bezos, CEO and Founder of Amazon.com. He built his company around a customer-centric model and now 89% of online shoppers prefer to buy from Amazon than any other Ecommerce site.
Imagine your brand foundation: built for growth and future success
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The Small Business Guide to Brand Strategy
This guide is full of information on how to create an overall brand strategy that will help you successfully market your business. It helps you craft an authentic brand story, then helps you uncover when, where and how to communicate it to your target audiences.
So How do You Build a More Customer-Centric Brand?
You need to thoroughly understand the customers you’re trying to reach. That’s where it helps to build more detailed models of your ideal customers, something called “Buyer Personas”. What are those? Stay tuned to the next blog to find out…
Need help on how to discover your target audience and build a brand that appeals to your target markets? Try our Brand Discovery Workshop. Contact us for more info at 778.298.1966 or Toll Free at 1.855.298.8650 or fill out our contact form.
