Do you really know how your customers think, feel and behave towards your small business and your competitors? Successful marketing for any small business starts by knowing who your customers are and what they need and desire.
There is no point wasting valuable time and money marketing your small business to people who aren’t interested in what you are selling. You need to communicate with the people who matter most to your business and do it better than your competitors.
To start creating a profile of your existing and potential customers in your market you need to look at their characteristics (demographics and psychographics) as well as their attitudes and buying behaviors.
Demographics
Demographics is how you would describe your customer in terms of age, gender, household size, income, occupation, education and country of birth. For example, the demographics of a customer who buys CB cereal bars may be female, age 30- 45 years, white collar occupation, household income greater than $75,000 and lives in Sydney.
There are websites including government websites that are a good source of information to find out more about the demographics of the customers who live in the areas in which your business competes.
Geography
This is where they are actually located and by gaining an understanding of this means you can focus your marketing tactics specifically for those in certain areas.
Psychographics
- Psychographics is how you would describe your customers in terms of:
- Interests – the key social interests your customers engage in eg. golf, family activities, theatre etc
- General personality – the personality characteristics of your customers eg. conservative, outgoing, introvert, extrovert etc
- Where to they “hang out” – what places on and offline do they network, socialize etc
If you know your customer’s psychographics you can tailor promotional activities, sales drives and communication messages that appeal to their specific interests and lifestyle.
Attitudes
The attitude of your customers to your product or service and business is important as it can give an indication of their involvement with your brand or business and your products or services. It is important to know how they think and feel in a certain way to be able to market your product or service more effectively.
Buying Behaviour
Buying behaviour relates to how your customers behave when deciding to buy your product or service versus your competitors.
Buying motives and influences may vary by customer group and will always include a rational and emotional reasons. They can include rational reasons such as location, convenience, customer service, image, range and promotional offers. Or emotional reasons such as makes me feel good, confidence or feeling of importance.
The more you know about your current and potential customers the easier it is to communicate the right message at the right time.
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