Who’s going to buy my product?
When you set up in business you had an idea and developed an amazing product. But then the fears kicked in: Is there a market for my product? How do I advertise to the right people? Am I attracting the wrong type of customer?
If this sounds familiar, then you need to get to grips with your market, and fundamentally, you need to know your customer.
Know your customer
When we ask our clients who their ideal client is, this can be a daunting question. Most of the time, they have a rough idea, but knowing your customer requires an understanding of both the market you’re operating in and the type of person that’s going to buy your product.
To take this further, it’s important to understand two things:
What’s your niche?
Who is your ideal client?
Is an ideal client and a niche not the same thing?
No, they are related, but are two different things, and it’s really important to understand both.
Your niche is a specific area of expertise or focus in which your business operates. It refers to the industry, sector, product category, or service offering that you specialise in. See our blog: how do I find my niche?
Whereas an ideal client is a specific type of customer who is a good fit for what your business offers and how you offer it. It is the target customer that your business aims to serve and attract. An ideal client can be defined by demographic factors such as age, gender, income level, and location, as well as psychographic factors such as values, interests, beliefs, and behaviours. See our blog: who is my ideal client?
Simply put, your niche is the area of focus for your business, while your ideal client is the specific type of customer that you aim to serve within that niche.
Do your research!
Start with a Google search, looking at the niche market you want to enter to see what information exists to help you identify the size and scope of the market. Is it growing, is it where you want to be operating, who’s your competition, what are they doing well, what are the gaps in the market?
If you’re already in business you will have access to a pool of customer data, make sure you use it. Look at the type of customers that buy from you, how can they be best categorised, who buys the most, who are repeat buyers, who doesn’t buy?
If you don’t have a rich pool of data, just think about your clients – who’s your ideal client and why? What characteristics do they have? Where do they shop, what are their interests, what’s important to them?
Then also think about your worst client, what makes them a pain, why don’t you want to work with them – how can you ensure you don’t attract more of them!
I know my customer, so what?
Now you have this information it’s key you use it to:
Develop your product or service to best meet your target customer’s needs
Develop your marketing to speak to your target customer
Develop your customer journey and customer services to meet the needs of your target customer
Basically, everything you do should now have your target customer in mind. Is it going meet their needs, make their life easier and better, is it going to make them return, are they going to shout about what you do and how you do it?
By knowing your customer and then using that information to build how your business operates, you will create a proposition that truly meet the needs of your customer, which will in turn create demand for your product and build a loyal customer base.
I need some help!
Knowing your customer properly can take time, but it’s an essential ingredient to building a successful business. We help our clients identify their niche and ideal client through our business planning sessions. We provide both ideas and challenge to help you get to the right outcome.
Small business owners with big dreams
At Scotch Accounting our focus is supporting start up and small creative, ecommerce & healthcare businesses in the UK. We love working with ambitious business owners, that want to understand and make the most of their finances.
We can help you plan your business’ future path, and then keep you on track to deliver it. Contact us today to discuss how we can help you take control of your finances.
