You are not your target market:
What you like doesn’t equate into what customers like.
I don’t like country music. I don’t like pop up newsletter subscription boxes. I don’t even like the idea of whipped cream flavored vodka. None of that should influence my marketing. What should? My customers.
What do my customers like? What music will appeal to them? Do they appreciate being offered a chance to subscribe to our newsletter? What flavored vodkas do they want to buy from my store? I can’t answer for them. I need to let my customers answer.
You let your customers answer by asking them directly, by measuring the changes in their responses when you change something, by split testing two different things against each other, by ordering the vodka and measuring sales.
Stop pretending your customers are the same as you.
You are not your target market:
Let your customers be themselves.
You are not your target market Part 3: You know too much.
New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Get our updates.
- 3 Major factors in rural remote work: incentives, flexible workspaces, and a sense of community - June 6, 2022
- How to recruit new residents, remote workers, or remote entrepreneurs - June 2, 2022
- How cooperatives improve small town economies - May 8, 2022
- Metaverse business idea: virtual world tour guide - April 15, 2022
- Make extra money from extra workspace: co-working and 3rd workplaces in small towns - March 28, 2022
- Trade show booth design trend: hand drawn visuals - March 21, 2022
- New business sign design? Don’t use cursive script - February 14, 2022
- Way more people prefer rural than urban, new Pew Research study finds - February 1, 2022
- Top 5 Rural and small town trends 2022 - January 3, 2022
- How to start a real small small business - December 17, 2021
This is a good point. I think many people don’t think from a customer’s perspective.
I think trying to think from the customers perspective is also futile. You only have your own experiences to daw from. i too don’t like country music but if it was going to double my sales i’d learn real quick. As becy states here it is important to ask and test. Too many business people from execs to small business owners sit at their boardroom tables trying to come up with something that will catch the eye of the customer or make a customer want to purchase. Unfortunately, they rarely listen to their customer base. They don’t even know how to ask the questions because they are not practiced at it.
My one last point is that often businesses are looking for a new customer rather than listening to, or taking care of the ones they have. Start with what exists. that is where the data is. You’ll find natural extensions from there. I think i have to write a post on this now.
Great article Becky!
Great, Keith. I’m glad you liked it. I have to agree about focusing on existing customers first. Let us have the link, when you get that post written!
Keith was quick! Here’s the link to his post: Why You CAN’T put your feet in the shoes of your customer