Welcome back to Part II of the “Increase Your Profit Series.” In Part I we focused on the importance of knowing your mission. Today, let’s take a good look at how well you know your customers. 

Who needs your product? Who was it designed for? Specificity is key. It’s important to know the following about your customers: 

Who are they?

What do they do?

Where are they?

How do they like to get information?

Example: You don’t just sell to kids. Your products are designed for girls ages 10-14 that like horses. 

The specifics of your products and services may change over time as you add new products or diversify, but in the beginning, the more narrow the focus, the easier the rest of the plan unfolds. 

An old adage I have heard and used many times is ‘It is like hunting with a rifle versus a shotgun.’ The rifle is very exact and designed to be aimed at a certain point. The shotgun is just pointed in a direction with the hope that out of a bunch of pellets fired in a direction, a few will hit the target.

In business, the rifle is exact, targeted marketing, and the shotgun is trying to be everything for everyone. Decide who you want to do business with, make sure your business model supports that, and then go get them! 

Invest the time to examine who your customer is and should be. Ask yourself these questions:

Who is my target?

What can I do to reach them?

How can I maximize the value of my product or service to them? 

Knowing your customer and how to best serve them is an important business factor that can make or break the success of your business.