Finding the right customers is critical to the success of any business. Many businesses say that their target audience is anyone who might be interested in their products or services, but this ‘target’ is much too broad. Think about the most profitable customers you have, and then think about your least profitable customers. Who do you want more of? Targeting a specific market does not mean that you are excluding people who do not fit your criteria, instead, it allows you to focus on a specific audience that is more likely to buy from you than other markets.
Building a model for your customers, and identifying the most valuable ones, gives your company a much more affordable, efficient, and effective way to reach potential clients and generate business. Your DFS advisor has all the resources you need to make your print or reseller business more productive and profitable.
How can I identify which customers are the most profitable?
Your most profitable customers are those who tend to be high-volume, repeat buyers. These most profitable customers often display customer loyalty through the number of years they’ve done business with you, referrals they send to your business, and an increase in purchases over time.
Define Your Target Audience
Look at your current customer base. Who are these current customers and why do they buy from you? Which of your customers brings in the most business? Identifying commonalities is important, as it is likely that other people like them could also benefit from your product or service. Look for common characteristics and interests, such as:
- Geographical location
- Industry
- Business size
- Job title
As you narrow down your target market, think of it like filters. If your product or service is location specific, then the first filter would be to narrow your audience to only those who could geographically purchase your item. Moving through these filters narrows your audience to a more focused target market. Experiment with the order and combination of the filters to see if you receive different final results.
Conducting market research is another tool that can help you to define your target audience. Start by gathering statistical data regarding your target markets’ demographics, market segments, needs, and buying decisions. One way you can gather demographic data is to conduct surveys via email or newsletters. This objective data can help you to better define which aspects of your customers’ behavior or profiles are most significant to your business, and allow you to start to measure and analyze better ways to engage them.
Keep in mind, while you are narrowing down your audience don’t make your audience too small. If you can reach one or more of your niches with the same message, then you have likely broken down your market too far. Each niche market should have a different marketing message.
As you apply these filters, continue to ask yourself who is most likely to be interested in the product or service you offer. Write out a list of each feature of your product or service. Next to each feature list the benefits it provides. Once you have your benefits listed, make a list of people who have a need that your benefit fulfills. Choose specific demographics of those most likely to buy your product or service, considering factors like job title, business area, and key companies. Matching the benefits with demographic groups will make it easier for you to identify those who are most likely to be both highly interested and able to buy your product or service.
Create Useful and Relevant Content to Engage Your Audience
If you aren’t creating custom content designed to reach your target audience, even customers that may have been ideal candidates could become less engaged. Creating useful and relevant content that meets your target audience’s needs, can allow them to feel valued and therefore more inclined to make a purchase. Businesses can do this by listening to prospective customers’ worries and struggles and then delivering content to help them succeed.
Utilizing a variety of advertising mediums, such as emails, flyers, social media, and direct mail, can create a multiplier effect on your marketing efforts, helping you to reach your businesses’ different audience segments. Keep in mind that customers expect a consistent experience across all their touch points with a company’s products and services. Integrated marketing strategies use communication tools and media to spread their message. By combining these tools, marketers can determine the best way to provide the marketing and service their customers expect.
Utilize Direct Mail To Make a Bigger Marketing Impact
Direct mail can reach almost anyone, and the physical document provides a long shelf life. Depending on the message you are sending, paper communication has a more formal feel for recipients. Consumers already expect to receive business correspondence by mail, just make sure your message is personalized. Direct mail is typically engaged by financial decision-makers, and a busy executive is much more likely to read a message that’s relevant, specific, and responsive to his or her needs.
Take a close look at the functional titles of those in your database or on your mailing list, and then look at other factors that may be important depending on your situation while compiling your direct mail list. Direct mail should be about getting the right message into the right hands. The people seeing your message should also be those you have decided are part of your target audience, and those who are most likely to respond positively, resulting in new sales, new clients, and bolstered business relationships. This is the goal of any direct marketing campaign: to build your business and give you your desired ROI.
You can depend on DFS to help you transform the way you work and guide business success. Contact us today to be matched with a DFS business advisor.
Key Takeaways
- Targeting allows you to focus on a specific audience that is more likely to buy from you than other markets.
- Your most profitable customers are those who tend to be high-volume, repeat buyers.
- Deliver useful and creative content to help your customers succeed.
- Use direct mail to engage financial decision-makers.
- Partnering with DFS can help print businesses and resellers drive long-term business success.
