Reaching Your Customers

Every day I walk my dog in a field near my house. Through this daily routine, we have both gotten to know the locations of various gopher holes. Much of the field is currently covered in hay which has not yet been cut this year. My dog knows the gophers live there, but the hay is three feet tall and neither one of us can spot the gopher holes, let alone see a gopher. Every day, when we get to particular sections of the field, the dog will starts to scout for gophers. She always ends up disappointed because she can’t find them amongst the tall hay.

Today, as I watched this happen one more time, I was reminded of many small businesses who know that customers are out there but just can’t seem to find them. Often, small businesses believe that everyone will want to buy their product, but most have little or no budget to promote themselves to the masses. So, what can a small business do?

The key to success is truly understanding your customer — this means knowing who your customers are, what their needs are and where to reach them. Segmenting those customers by their characteristics and actions will enable you to identify where to focus your attention. Then, choose segments that are lucrative and can be targeted easily and effectively. Rather than trying to be all things to all people, small businesses will be most successful when they target a particular audience and differentiate themselves from the “big guys”.

If you can identify target audiences with particular characteristics, you can tailor your marketing efforts to reach them. Using messages that resonate specifically with an audience, delivered through media that will reach their effectively, you can create a relationship with that audience. A small business has the opportunity to build a personal relationship with their niche customers in a way that big businesses can’t, despite their bigger budgets. Developing a close relationship with key customer segments — and learning more about them — will help you target your message and marketing to meet their needs, increasing the chance that they will act. More effective marketing means a better return on your marketing budget, and what small business doesn’t want that?