How A Customer Profile Can Be An Indispensable Tool For Your Market Analysis

                                                

#Business

It has been said and acceptable the world over that the only thing that does not change is change. People change, environment changes, taste and fashion change and without exception, the market for a product changes with time. This probably accounts for why a company’s customer base often shifts from time to time. And when it happens, it is those companies that shift with their customer’s needs that will remain relevant and useful.

However, those who refuse, knowingly or unknowingly, to change along, of course, will have their self to blame when they finally came to realization that their customer base has decrease drastically within a spate of time.

On the blog today, I’m going to share with you three proven methods in which a business owner can use as cardinal tool, to survey the market place in order to know the customer’s buying motives, and to meet their  purchasing needs. For the meantime, I want you to continue reading this post.

Though it is an undisputed fact that the success of most businesses are the personalities behind them, surely, these companies have structures, operating components, and unique characteristics that reflects the driving force behind them.

One of the major components that have ensured the excellent performance of most companies over the years is customer profile. A customer profile is a market analysis tool that has enabled companies to develop razor-sharp market strategies that have not only penetrated into market but also kept competitors mesmerized.

This, notwithstanding, a customer profile is the most often overlooked when as a matter of fact; it should be one of the significant data any business owner should have at his fingertips. The importance of this tool cannot not be over-emphasized both by those who are planning to be or are in business.

A customer profile enables customer’s buying motive while he or she is customer rather than someone else’s. The profile also avails the entrepreneur with such information as:where they live, their income level, age group, family size, frequent of purchase, and how necessary their product is to the customer.

But how can a business owner acquire this important information? There are basically three ways by which customer’s information can be gathered. These are:

1.     OBSERVATION

Whether you are planning to be or in business, one sure way to develop your customer’s profile is by observation. How? It is simple. Pick a giant in your industry, one of the oldest and the largest in the industry. It should be a company whose image is fully developed and its founder known by all in the industry.

In terms of competition, the company must be quite formidable. Now take a chair and have a sit across the street with the sole intention of wanting to know as much about this company’s operation and the customers as possible.

As you sit there for days, record in your note everyone that walked n and out of the company. If possible, see what product they bought. Guess their age, sex, and other visible characteristics that will help you distinguish them in the market place. At the end of the day, you will discover areas this giant is not servicing which you could slide into and carve your own niche without competition.

2.     INTERVIEW

Accurate information for your customer’s profile can also be gotten through interviews. In fact, it is often said that if you want an answer, ask a question and the best person to ask is the one who is at the source, which in this case, is the customer being serviced by someone else. Here, you can pick and interview about six or more actual or potential customers with a view to finding out what they consider important about your business.  

For instance, if your product is to be used by mothers, call a mother and ask what her present supplier is doing that she liked most. Ask her the supplier’s strongest and weakest characteristics and request that she offers or proffers two or more recommendations as to how her weak supplier’s weakness can be overcome. With this information, you would have amassed adequate information guesses wouldn’t have provided.

You should, however, be careful not to attempt to sell your product right away even if it is superior to what she is presently using. She’s only a potential now. After some time, call her and remind her about her interview. Thank her for her co-operation and then tell her that you have a product that took all her suggestions into consideration.

By this, you have not only built around you plenty of prospective customers but product that is built around customers need garnered from the customers feed-back. Such products never fail.

3.     CONTACT SUPPLIERS

Taking a curious look at suppliers is another way to build a customer profile. For every industry, there are suppliers and the best thing to do is to talk to the suppliers directly. First, get yourself acquainted. Then from a casual talk, you will be surprised how much information you will glean. The questions of who is ordering what, when and where in the industry can all be answered in a series of casual questions probably over lunch of coffee. Ask questions also concerning their competitors and your wish will be their command.

These three methods are, however, not exhaustive, as earlier stated, any business owner who does not know his customers, does not know his product and you can’t know your customers, if you don’t consistently update your customer’s profile as the market changes. For those of you who are planning to be in business, the best way to develop your customer’s profile is to model one based on customers of the players in the field.

Let me stop here. You will hear from me soon.

Bye!