subject: The Benefits of Power Prospecting [print this page] People in general respond in a more positive way when they see their name scattered throughout the message and letters they read.
Let's take a closer look at how we can prospect for new customers.
The question marketer's have been asking for decades is: "Who is my customer?"
Then came, "Where can I find my customer?"
Finally, "What characteristics, habits, and hobbies do my customers have?"
To find out who, where and what your future customers are you should be mining the data in your current customer list. You where smart enough to compile one, weren't you?
Now you can put a profile together of your past customers which will help target your future customers and prospects.
Even doing this work and finding common characteristics of your past customers is not good enough.
Often we will completely miss the opportunity to market our products and services to a new market. Since the market' is not always staring us right in the face. we should not only look at *common* characteristics of our existing customers, we should be looking for those customer that are at the **fringes** ('fringe' customers are those that don't match ANY of the common characteristics of our current customers).
What made them buy our product?
What did they use it for?
The answers to these questions may be more profitable - in the long run. Because these fringe' buyers do not match the *common* characteristics of our current average customer, they may be representative of entirely NEW markets that are not so obvious, but could be highly profitable.
Remember, people buy our products and services for their reasons, not ours. There may be markets out there that want our products, but we haven't been able to identify them. Ask your fringe' customer why they bought, you'll be pleasantly surprised to find that there may be several thousand NEW prospects out there for you to contact and sell!
