As the nation's economic forecast remains uncertain, many business owners are struggling with how to remain strong and growing. One strategy is to develop market specialization; exploiting the opportunity to truly differentiate your business.
While there might be many ways in which a business can separate itself from the pack, perhaps the most common method is providing better answers to specific customer needs. Once you understand what your customers want, you can determine how to deliver.
These three simple steps can help you get to know, and subsequently, better understand and better serve your customers.
- See Them for Who They Are It is important for a business owner to have a clear picture of the ideal customer. Take off the rose-colored glasses and put your personal feelings aside. It's time to be brutally honest, to see your customers for who they truly are. This means at a minimum, collecting and reviewing historical sales and demographic data.
You want to identify your "Sweet Spots," or the traits that blend to create your most profitable opportunities. You might see trends that tell you a lot - like whether men or women are more likely to buy, age groups of your best customers, who's likely to become repeat visitors, and so on. The level of granularity here depends on your data sources and how much information you have collected to accompany each sale.
- Listen to What They WantCustomers typically have many choices. You need to become an answer for a specific need shared by your best customers. Once you know who constitutes the consumers in your sweet spot, you need to know more about what makes them tick.
Reach out to them, and ask some questions. You could use polls, surveys and questionnaires to gather honest feedback. Look at offering these through direct mail and/or web-based solutions. Give the respondents a couple different options to communicate with you. Use the answers received to identify specific issues, unanswered needs, and basic strengths found in your business.
- Give Them Something to Talk About The business landscape has become increasingly competitive so you want to carve out a very specific niche. A successful business is typically one known for doing something specific - think about Coke, Nike, or any big-name brand. In each case, good branding means you connect a specific need (shoes, soft drinks, etc.) to a specific solution. So what is your business best known for? Is it lowest prices, best service or widest selection? Is it convenience, interior design, great marketing or employee uniforms? More importantly, is it time to actively try to shape or refine your image in the hearts and minds of your customers?
How you specifically differentiate your business is unique to each situation. But through taking the time to clearly and deliberately set your business apart from the rest, you are positioning your business to better survive tough economic conditions.
THIS IS NOT INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE. Consult with a financial advisor, accountant or attorney before making important decisions in these areas.
