PPB October 2019

I am always on the lookout for ways to develop a stronger team and to create outlets where we put technology away and learn from human interaction. One team-building activity is to create a simple brand-building session. Let your team help define or redefine who your ideal customer is. Defining your ideal customer can be rewarding if you take the profile of your ideal customer and put a plan in place to focus on that type of customer. Taking a shotgun approach and targeting mass markets has long-term challenges. Attempting to tap into the mass market where most of the money and attention are has other implications: it’s expensive, ambiguous, competitive and often, a race to the bottom. Here some factors to help your team define your ideal customer: 1 Industries 2 Geography 3 Size 4 Long-term value/budget 5 Buyer personas 6 Buyer roles and job titles 7 Problems they need solved/ pain points 8 Potential for account penetration 9 Open to your insight 10 Ability to measure your work 11 Decision-making factors 12 Reputation 13 Organized and focused versus last-minute and distracted Marketing expert Seth Godin says that we should find our minimal viable audience (MVA). The goal is to harness the energy of the smallest number of buyers willing to invest in you and yet, retain a sustainable business. Godin says to be “mindfully specific versus a wandering generality.” In doing so, we can influence our market, serve and nurture a customer community, Who Is Your Ideal Customer? Defining this may be an opportunity to pivot your organization. by Danny Rosin, CAS 40 | OCTOBER 2019 | GROW