

When you own a small business, reaching as many customers as possible is important. But you’re not a big-box mega-store, so you can’t cast the wide net they can. Instead, the key is to identify your potential ideal customers and target as many of them as you can afford.
Your first step is to figure out who your ideal customers are. The more you know about them, the easier they’ll be to find and market to.
Who do you think your target market is? The best way to identify your ideal customers is to create a profile—a buyer or customer persona—a fictional representation of them. The key is to be as specific as possible. If you’re already in business, you may already have some information about them. So start with your current customer base; they will offer the most insights.
There are numerous ways you can learn more about your customers. What characteristics do they share? You can survey them in person or online. Here are several ideas:
B2B businesses may already have this type of data. See what information your customer relationship management software (CRM), loyalty program software, and customer purchase history reveal.
You can also ask your customers questions about their relationship with your business, such as:
After surveying your customers categorize the characteristics they share. See what patterns emerge.
Once you collect all your customer persona data, create your profiles. Here’s an example of a customer persona for a bicycle retailer:
Mike is a 55-year-old professional with a household income of $150,000. He’s married with adult children and lives in the suburbs. Fitness is a priority for him, and he spends $5,000-$10,000 annually on high-end bicycles and accessories. He wants functional, high-quality products that convey status.
Depending on the type of business you own, what you sell and how many customers you have, you may have to create multiple customer personas. Don’t let this overwhelm you; start with your top customers and only create a few personas. You can create more later.
Here’s another example of a different customer persona a bicycle retailer may have:
Ashley is a single, 28-year-old urban professional who earns $90,000. She spends around $5,000 a year on bikes and accessories. Biking on the weekends is one of her favorite ways to relax. She’s very active on social media and likes to be the first to try new bike gear.
HubSpot says building a negative buyer persona (the people you don’t want as customers) can be helpful. You’ll save time and money by not marketing to people, such as:
Using your customer persona/s, design your marketing and sales strategies to attract your ideal customers by:
Focus your sales efforts on your ideal customers by:
Identifying your ideal customers will help you weed out less-than-ideal customers—those that are harder to sell to, don’t spend as much money and aren’t as profitable. By focusing on your ideal customers and discovering the best way to communicate with them, your business will grow faster with less effort, becoming more successful and profitable.
This can sound a little overwhelming. If you need help, ask your SCORE mentor to help you define and develop your ideal customer profiles.
This article is sponsored by Lexmark GO Line. Learn more about small business resources at Lexmark’s the Spot.
Lexmark GO Line helps small businesses make a lasting impression on the world with intentionally engineered printers and all-in-ones. Combining over 30 years of experience and expertise, Lexmark is proud to offer enterprise-class and built-for-SMB devices and features to customers worldwide. With over 7 million printers deployed in more than 170 countries, Lexmark helps customers print, secure and manage documents with ease. Make your mark with Lexmark GO Line. Visit Lexmark’s the Spot for SMBs.
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