subject: "You're The Best!": The Difference Between Your Best Customers and Everyone Else [print this page] "You're The Best!": The Difference Between Your Best Customers and Everyone Else
In case you are wondering about the title, I just saw The Karate Kid' again and that Joe Esposito song You're The Best!' get's me every time. AND it rings true for what I wanted to talk to you about today. Nearly every single prospective client I talk to wants to focus on recruiting new clients. When I bring up who are you looking for in a customer' and they answer Anyone I can get in the door', I know that I have my work cut out for me. Why? Because I know that this person has no idea what it means to market intelligently.
What I am about to tell you applies to ALL forms of marketing so be sure to pay attention. Your advertising sucks if all it does is find you occasional traffic that buys small amounts of your product or service. To those who say any customer is a good customer', I say "you're an idiot". Anyone who has had their business operating effectively for a while typically has one or two customers who are their premier clients. This is the customer you talk about when you're having beer on Friday night with the guys or playing poker. The customer that you bring up and say Man, if I only had ten more clients like so-and-so. He gives me all of his business and I basically charge him whatever I want and he doesn't say a thing!"
Now I am not going to tell you that this is simply a function of demographics. Relationship building plays a very large role in that. However, before you can build a relationship like that, you first need to find a customer that you CAN develop that relationship with. And that does require smart demographic work.
If you have any interest in using mail to cultivate your business prospects, I urge you to go to www.directmailsecrets.net and get a FREE download of the Ultimate Advertiser Starter Guide'. Finding the ideal customer is just one of the points I cover. There are a number of elements you should keep track of when looking for the best' customer. Above all else, you should understand that those best customers', the ones who give you the most business, over and over again they can be targeted and marketed to SPECIFICALLY! Avoid the stragglers go directly after the prospects who bring you the most value.
Remember, I define your best customer' as the following as people who fit all 3 of the following requirements:
Clients who use you, exclusively, for the products or services you offer.
Clients with whom you make a noticeably larger profit margin than the rest of your buyers.
Clients who use you repeatedly (customer retention).
The frequency of their purchase is often widely controlled by what you are selling. For example, if you sell boats, you can certainly develop customer loyalty (this indicates strong customer satisfaction) but you may not see a client return to line your palms with silver for several years. What you need to focus on is the characteristics between those who fit this best customer category. Once you have that figured out, you are further along than 90% of your competition.
