Every business should have clarity on their ideal target market – and before you say that your customer is anyone who will buy your product and/or service, this isn’t best practice.
We often see salespeople targeting the wrong prospects, they spin their wheels wasting time and bringing on business that is not conducive to reaching their targets. The more laser-beam focused we are on our target market, the more quality meetings with the right people, the quicker we get to our growth objectives by achieving sales goals.
And it isn’t enough for the sales team to have a rough idea in their head of who it is they need to be approaching. This needs to be a top-level discussion, with a clear, recorded findings around who your business’s target market is, and how there will be a shift in focus to these individuals/organisations. According to Forbes, you need to consider three main factors when putting together a profile of your target market:
- Geographic (location)
- Demographic (gender, age, ethnicity)
- Psychographic (personality, values, opinions, attitudes, interests and lifestyle)
And we would also recommend identifying:
- Industry Sectors i.e. building and construction, business services, logistics etc.
- The title of the: decision maker, influencers, economic buyer, end users, and what part they play in the buying process.
Then, to start working out the above, imagine your ideal customer and describe them under the three headings. While doing this also ask yourself – who are they, what do they do for a job, why would they need your product and how do they typically find out about products like yours.
