Profiling and qualifying clients
I prefer the term "audience" to "market." Marketing is sort of like putting on a show or, better, telling a story. To me, the term "market" is a wee bit cold and impersonal. "Audience," on the other hand, conveys the idea of putting one's self in front of a group of people in order to tell your story. It makes things a little more warm and cozy.
Planning your marketing strategy without knowing whom you're talking to is like having a conversation with a stranger. It's often uncomfortable and you don't know what's important to them or what will push their buttons.
It's simply a bad idea to take on everybody who walks in the door, or rings up your telephone. You end up with some clients that are a huge pain in the hind quarter, squabble about your fees, pay slow (or not at all) and make your life generally miserable.
Here are some things you'll want to know:
Finally, create a profile of your best client or customer. These are the folks you want to clone. I prefer to use a person rather than a company for this. People buy from people and usually people they like. A profile can be a couple of paragraphs about their company overview, industry, size, revenues and such. But, it's also important to add in key info about your primary contact, what they're like and what's important to them.
For instance, you might come across a prospect who matches the company and industry part of the profile, but the contact isn't a good match and there's potential for a personality conflict or divergent values. It might be time to put them on the back burner until there's a change in personnel.
Qualifying is about determining if the prospect is a good fit for your business - Do they buy what you're selling? If so, how much? Can they afford to buy your wares? With profile in hand, you can begin to qualify prospects and find out if it's worth the time, effort and money to pursue them.
It usually takes the same about of resources to go after a good-fit client as a bad-fit one. When you qualify your prospects you're in a much better position to use those resources to land clients that make sense for your business model. You'll also save a load of dough on aspirin and antacids.
Planning your marketing strategy without knowing whom you're talking to is like having a conversation with a stranger. It's often uncomfortable and you don't know what's important to them or what will push their buttons.
It's simply a bad idea to take on everybody who walks in the door, or rings up your telephone. You end up with some clients that are a huge pain in the hind quarter, squabble about your fees, pay slow (or not at all) and make your life generally miserable.
Here are some things you'll want to know:
- The size of your audience
- Their demographics and behaviors
- Their key wants and needs
- Their buying habits
Finally, create a profile of your best client or customer. These are the folks you want to clone. I prefer to use a person rather than a company for this. People buy from people and usually people they like. A profile can be a couple of paragraphs about their company overview, industry, size, revenues and such. But, it's also important to add in key info about your primary contact, what they're like and what's important to them.
For instance, you might come across a prospect who matches the company and industry part of the profile, but the contact isn't a good match and there's potential for a personality conflict or divergent values. It might be time to put them on the back burner until there's a change in personnel.
Qualifying is about determining if the prospect is a good fit for your business - Do they buy what you're selling? If so, how much? Can they afford to buy your wares? With profile in hand, you can begin to qualify prospects and find out if it's worth the time, effort and money to pursue them.
It usually takes the same about of resources to go after a good-fit client as a bad-fit one. When you qualify your prospects you're in a much better position to use those resources to land clients that make sense for your business model. You'll also save a load of dough on aspirin and antacids.
