You Must Know Your Customers to Sell to Them
Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote: “If a man can write a better book, preach a better sermon or make a better mouse trap than his neighbors, though he builds his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door.” This sentiment may have been true in the late 19th century, but it isn’t any longer.
Today, you have to promote your brand, do your market research and offer compelling pricing. It almost goes without saying that your products or services are better in some way than your competitors’. To reach your audience in a meaningful way, you have to know who your customers are — and the better you understand them, the more your sales tactics will succeed.
Do You Know Your Customers?
Your customers include those who have already bought your products or services, as well as those who are merely interested in what you’re selling. You have to reach both of those audiences to increase your sales and grow your business. How do you find out who your customers are? Ask them, poll them or survey them. Explore your analytics. Search social media characteristics. Whatever it takes, you must do it.
It’s possible that the only difference between those who’ve already bought from you and those that haven’t is that one group already knows how awesome your company is and the other group doesn’t. Yet. You have to put the effort into getting to know your customers. Find out as much as you can about them. For example:
- What they like, beyond your products or services
- Where they like to go and where they hang out
- How much they earn, on average
- Why they like your company enough to buy your offerings
- What they do for work and play
- How old, what gender and what race they are, on average
The Point of This Exercise
To get to know your customers, research all the information above. But once you have that information, you have to act on it. You have to target your advertising and marketing to that audience. You have to be a presence wherever they are.
For example, if you determine that they’re more likely to listen to a certain radio station, buy air time. If they spend time on Facebook or another social media channel, advertise there. If many of your customers also mountain bike, drink beer or vacation in the mountains (to pick three random examples), make sure you have a presence in mountain bike shops, breweries or mountain rentals.
Success Involves Knowing Your Customers
As writers, the Ray Access team has to know who our clients’ customers are before any writing can take place. All writers need to know their audience. Stephen King, Peter Drucker and Ralph Waldo Emerson all recognized who would read their words. Fox News outlets, your local paper and the New York Times all understand their specific following. When you write your marketing copy, website content or blog posts, know your audience to get the best results.
In the end, when you know your customers, you know how to appeal to them. Because you know what they want, you can build the trust it takes to create not just customers, but loyal advocates of your brand. That’s worth taking the time to get to know your customers — both for the present and for the future.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.
