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Sales Strategy

7 Steps to Identify and Target Your Ideal Customers

Introduction If you are a small business owner in Nigeria, or anywhere for that matter, you know that reaching the right customers is crucial for your success. That’s why it’s important to carefully identify and target your ideal customer, especially because it’s not easy to stand out in a crowded market, particularly when you have limited resources and budget. You may be tempted to appeal to everyone or to copy what your competitors are doing, but that’s a recipe for mediocrity and frustration. To grow your business, you need to identify and target your ideal customers – the people who need and want what you offer and are willing to pay for it. In this article, I’ll show you seven (7) steps to identify and target your ideal customer, using real-life examples from Nigerian MSMEs. Step 1: Define your niche and value proposition The first step to identifying and targeting your ideal customers is to define your niche – the specific area of your industry where you excel and have a unique advantage. For example, if you’re a fashion designer, your niche could be ethnic wear for plus-size women or eco-friendly denim for men. Once you have identified your niche, you need to craft a value proposition that explains why your products or services are better than others in the market. Your value proposition should be clear, concise, and compelling. Think of these as the 3Cs that will help you focus on the benefits that your customers will experience, such as saving time, money, or hassle. Mimi, a graphic designer in Lagos understands this principle so well. When she realized that her passion and talent for creating eye-catching logos and social media graphics could serve a specific niche – small business owners who wanted to attract more customers online. She crafted a value proposition that promised “professional designs that get you noticed and remembered,” and targeted her marketing messages to this niche. With this value proposition in mind, she began targeting her marketing messages and channels to this niche. Mimi’s efforts paid off – she began receiving inquiries from small business owners in her niche, and her clients were thrilled with the results of her design work. As a result of her targeted approach, Mimi was able to build a thriving business serving the needs of small business owners in Lagos. Step 2: Research your audience To efficiently target and identify your ideal customer, the second step is to research your audience – the people who are most likely to buy from you. You need to understand their demographics (their ages), psychographics (what are their values), and pain points (what are their problems, challenges, or frustrations), and use that knowledge to tailor your marketing messages and channels. You can use various tools and methods to gather this information, such as surveys, focus groups, social media listening, Google Analytics, and competitor analysis. Dooshima, a catering business owner in Abuja comes to mind. When she was starting her business, she researched the preferences of her potential corporate clients and found they valued healthy and diverse menus, on-time delivery, and personalized service. This helped her identify and target her ideal customer easily. She created a website and brochure highlighting these features and developed a value proposition of “healthy, delicious and diverse catering services that help you impress your clients and employees at your next corporate event. We guarantee on-time delivery and personalized service to make your event stress-free.” By incorporating this into her marketing efforts, Dooshima successfully attracted more corporate clients, leading to increased customer loyalty and repeat business. Step 3: Create customer personas The third step to identifying your ideal customers is to create customer personas – fictional representations of your ideal customers based on your research. A customer persona should include details such as age, gender, income, education, occupation, interests, goals, challenges, objections, and communication preferences. Recall that this information is gotten from the demographics, psychographics and pain points you researched in the last step. By visualizing your ideal customers as real people, you can empathize with their needs and desires and create marketing messages that resonate with them. This approach of empathy will help you feel what your customers feel, therefore placing you in a position to solve their problems. No one exudes empathy more than Chinyere. The skincare entrepreneur who runs her business in Enugu created three customer personas – young female students who wanted affordable and natural products, middle-aged mothers who wanted anti-ageing and skin-brightening solutions, and male athletes who wanted soothing and hydrating creams. She used these personas to customize her product offerings, packaging, and messaging for each segment and increased her sales by 30%. Step 4: Segment your market After identifying your ideal customer and creating their persona, the next step is to segment your market. Market segmentation is the process of dividing your target audience into smaller groups based on similar characteristics, such as age, gender, income, education level, location, interests, and behaviour. Segmentation allows you to target each group with a specific message and offer that addresses their unique needs and wants. You can segment your market based on various factors, such as geography, demographics, psychographics, behaviours, and usage. By doing so, you can create more personalized and relevant marketing messages that resonate with each segment. Imagine if you are a clothing retailer targeting women, you might segment your market into different age groups or style preferences, such as casual wear, formal wear, or athletic wear. This would allow you to create more specific and targeted marketing messages that appeal to each segment’s unique needs and preferences. Step 5: Develop a marketing strategy Now that you have a good understanding of your target audience and their needs, it’s time to develop a marketing strategy that will effectively reach and engage them. Your marketing strategy should be based on the channels and tactics that are most likely to resonate with your target audience. If your business is offline, get a graphic designer to make

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How to Use FOMO in Marketing

The fear of missing out (FOMO) is more powerful than the fear of losing “― Naved Abdali Crocs are not that cute, let us be honest. There is no other way to say it, irrespective of how many charms you put on them and how well you spell your name, they are still not that cute. Only three years ago, some of you would never be caught dead wearing them. I have a pair, but hey, I choose comfort over beauty ALWAYS! Geles are torture and you cannot afford that Aso-Ebi. If we know this (and yes, deep down we do) the question is, why do we still put ourselves through so much grief? Why do we use our money to buy pain? I will tell you why: FOMO; the fear of missing out which some refer to as peer pressure. It has led us to do things that are the opposite of how we truly feel, all because we do not want to feel left out. Interesting right? I still remember my first encounter with FOMO. It was years ago in my university days when a doughnut seller would chant with such energy ‘Hot doughnut.’ She always managed to ‘appear’ when my tummy was rumbling. Interestingly, I remember not liking doughnuts very much (I still don’t) but the scramble and the fear of ‘missing out’ got me out of my bed to join the hustle to get her to my room. It was not just her then, there were jewellery sellers, makeup, and clothes sellers who came at the right time and brought with them this fear. It made no sense to me then, how could it? I was just an innocent consumer. Fast forward to a few years later and FOMO resurfaced even stronger than before. I felt it in movie trailers, the streets of Instagram, at work and even restaurants…it was everywhere. Just in case you still have not noticed it, I will give a few examples: Ever rushed to watch a movie because everyone was raving about it? Ever went to a restaurant that you knew could do long-lasting damage to your pocket because the food bloggers labelled it cool? Ever started running on Lekki bridge (when you know you hate running) because all your friends were recording Nike steps on Instagram? Ponder no further people; it is FOOOOOOMMMOOOO! Now that we can recognise it, we must also know that FOMO, like every other potential marketing strategy, can be used for good or bad. It is important that you are responsible with it and note that you must not abuse it. I am here to teach you how to use it for good. It starts with offering a superior product or service. I cannot overemphasise how important this is; if not I am afraid, the only person missing out will be you. The next step is to identify your Unique Selling Point-USP (I know you have heard this before, but trust me, it’s important). You must know what truly stands about your business; this can be recyclable packaging, an ingredient, flavour, secret recipe or even the way in which your product or service is sold. When you have figured this out, the next step is for you to know what value is to your consumer, what they care about. Do they care about their clothes folded in triangles or do they want their laundry dropped off for them? Do they want their beans picked or in powder form? This information, you must have. Next step is to weave the needs of your customer with the USP and then launch the 3C’s! Communicate this clearly, creatively, and confidently (say it with your full chest, my friend) . Nobody will appreciate that selling your biscuit in recyclable packaging is great for the environment and that it can change different colours till you tell them with your full chest. Next step, try limited and exclusive offers ‘not every time, it is available till eternity. Sometimes, create something unique that is not always available’. Leverage your reviews (the real ones please) that project what stand about your product or service offering. They should be your secret weapon; hold on to them and use them as your ‘pepper them spray’ that you can sprinkle when you need to. Now that you have learnt, lesson is over, please feel free to raise your shoulders high, you have officially arrived!  You now know what FOMO is,  go forth and use it strategically and responsibly.

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Marketing on the Street: Lessons from a Moi Moi Seller

Marketing on the street, also known as street marketing, provides incredible insights into how goods and services are provided to customers in public settings. The marketing strategies from these local geniuses are creative, practical and straightforward.  This is the story of a recovering ‘Moi Moi addict’. This addict realised after a year of reflection that the friendly neighbourhood Moi Moi (boiled bean pudding) seller, Iya Barakat used the simplest marketing tricks to turn her into a Moi Moi addict. It all started one fateful afternoon. I was on my way back from the mosque, with my mouth ‘dry’, trudging along slowly and carefully till it hit me! A whiff of goodness swirling in the air with no control. As I stopped to inhale the smell, a voice said from nowhere, ‘Moi Moi wa o’ (Yoruba for boiled bean pudding is available). I stopped to buy a meal’s worth; Okay! Okay! Maybe it was two meals. That was how an addictive relationship started. Now that I am out of the community, I cannot help but reflect on the brilliant use of street marketing by this experienced road seller. I will highlight a few: Let us start with the superior product quality: Iya Barakat’s Moi Moi had a consistency that was truly admirable. Her pudding always tasted great and even better, the same way. The aroma was so inviting that all the discipline in the world could not help you ignore it. Then the consistency with time! Iya Barakat’s special delicacy was always ready on Friday afternoon, specifically after Friday prayers. With the aid of tested and trusted coolers, the Moi Moi remained hot till evening, when the next set of victims stopped by. There was brilliant customer service laced with reminders. She and her staff NEVER forgot to greet me on my way back from the mosque. They sweetly reminded me to place an order, then coincidentally wrapped the bean pudding simultaneously. A visual reminder in case it did not ‘click’. If I now missed all the signs, Iya Barakat would switch to prayer mode as I headed back. This happened just when the smell had escaped from the pot, and the Moi Moi was sizzling. At this point, my tummy (being the snitch) would have lost all home training. It would rumble in protest, alerting my brain that only my heart and soul were fed at the mosque. Emotional marketing, no? If all of these failed, Iya Barakat would brandish her last card. She would report to my flatmate about how I deprived her of delicious bean pudding. Then sweetly add ‘e pele o, remember that Moi Moi is in high demand’. Fear of missing out, no? If this does not convince you that Iya Barakat should give a masterclass in street marketing, I don’t know what will.

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How to Leverage Networking to grow Your Startup

The idea of networking contributes to the growth and relevance of a start-up. We are familiar with the saying “no man is an island”. Running your business on a solo mode might retain the focus or vision of the business but it shuts the owner from the real experiences of other business owners. In this article, we would look at how building a solid network can maintain a start-up business. Success in business especially for a start-up trying to gain traction is not only dependent on how much the business is able to control financially, neither is it by the size of the team. There are other activities that not only boost a start-up but ensures its sustainability. Research has shown that many successful start-ups developed meaningful partnerships, which enabled them to achieve success quickly and sustainably. This is known as networking. What is Networking? Networking in business involves building relationships with potential partners for your business. It should not be mistaken for just hosting business meetings, exchanging business cards, joining business communities and organizing pitch parties. Notwithstanding, these are processes of networking that may get people to be interested in your business, trust what you do and desire to partner with you. These connections, if optimized, can boost a start-up business and expose it to more opportunities. What can networking do for your start-up business? Networking attracts excellent skills: Networking offers a large range of skills to make selections from. A start-up business with strong connections cannot lack top skills in its decisions. It cannot be limited to just the available but have the option of picking its desired. Networking helps you through competition: One can hardly talk about a business and its sustenance without recognizing the place of competitors – how they charge and what they do to stay as market leaders. Exposure through your business network gives insights to what you can do to stand out and also face competition in the industry without wearing out. In simple terms, networking breaks down the bulk of handling competitors as by others experiences, one is guided on essential approaches for effective results. Networking provides you with more negotiating power with potential investors: Investors seek to support a business that not only promises good return on their investment but will deliver rightly and on time. A strong network gives a business credibility and gives investors the assurance they need before they invest in your business. Also, your network can introduce you to other potential investors. Wider customer reach: Customers of a business are spread abroad. Networking links the business with its potential clients who in turn advocates on behalf of the business. The effect of this is a wider reach to the right customers thereby, increasing the business customer base. This connection is beyond boundaries; could be online or offline reach. Impact on business strategy: By exposure through networking, a start-up business gets to improve its strategies in communication, financing, operations and other aspects. Networking influences positively from the structure of the start-up business through its publicity even to the personal brand of the founders.

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What You Need to Know About Customer Types

The lifeline of every business is enmeshed in the number of stakeholders it interacts with as well as their activities in relation to the business. These stakeholders include the suppliers of the raw materials needed for the business to manufacture its offerings, the employees or human resources who engage in the production and the customers who are the end users and the most important stakeholder in the cycle. The Customer Customers are consumers or end users that products or services are made for in order to satisfy their needs with a series of unique experiences. The customer in-turn has a unique role to play as their consistent purchase makes them become the most important stakeholder in a business. The major reason businesses collapse is for lack of customers as customers generate cash-flow for the business whenever they make purchases therefore contributing to increasing the sustainability of the business to remain afloat. The uniqueness of the customer does not trivialize the role of the supplier and employee but then without the customer, the aim of building a business without an end user is defeated. The Nigerian market is characterized with different categories of customers. The ability to understand the type of customers a business attracts through their purchasing behavior and data driven approach will support the growth of a business. This understanding helps businesses position their offerings correctly in order to attract the specific customer segment they want and also secure a reasonable market share through intentional strategies.  Here are the five customer types and what we need to know about their personality traits in order to sell to them Innovators (2.5%) Innovators are the type of customers whose buying decisions are risk driven. Innovators are the youngest in age and willing to experiment upon seeing a product or service they desire to use. The personality trait of innovators is that they are impulse buyers, their need for adopting a new product has no regards with respect to whether they have budgeted for it or not. Because they are risk takers, they easily adopt new technological solutions and while they can easily help brands to get exposure by putting these products in the presence of other potential users, they might lose their financial resources if such solutions fail based on some limitations. The Innovators account for only 2.5% of purchases made. Early Adopters (13.5%) These categories of customers are the second set of individuals to adopt an innovation after the Innovators, they are called the Early Adopters and they account for only 13.5% of purchases made. The Early adopters are also very young in age just like the Innovators and have a high social status and reasonable disposable income. They are opinionated and can be regarded as thought leaders. Because Early Adopters are judicious in their choice of adoption, they can easily maintain a central communication position, especially in giving reviews. Early Majority (34%) The Early major only adopts new solutions when a degree of time has passed after the launch of the solution into the marketplace. The time taken before they adopt any solution is usually longer than those of the Adopters and Innovators. They usually tend to be slower when it comes to the adoption of a solution and only belong to the above average income class, however their contact with Early Adopters eventually informs their decisions about eventual purchases. They also rarely hold an opinion which is a direct opposite of what the Early Adopters do. They account for 34% of all purchases. Late Majority (34%) The Late Majority only adopt any form of innovation after the average in the society has done that. Their approach of innovation is with a high degree of skepticism. They are far from being risk takers as they are low on disposable income and want to avoid mistakes when making purchases since their income is limited. They are also characterized with very little financial education, are in contact with those in the Early majority and their peers, and possess not much opinion leadership. They account for 34% of all purchases just like the Early Majority. Laggards (16%) The laggards as the name implies are the last to adopt any form of innovation. These individuals have no respect for change as they hold on to their first generation of solutions and do not consider a change of such a solution except if there is a breakdown of such a product or it no longer works again, only these circumstances makes them embrace change. They are traditionalists and are usually elderly, have very little disposable income, lowest financial education and are only in touch with family and friends All customer types make their unique contributions to grow a business; their role in the value chain supports the sustainability of a business in different dimensions. The early majority and the late majority are usually the difficult set of customers, however learning to sell to them by winning their confidence and serving them right, has the ability to increase repeat purchase as they both account for the highest percentage in overall purchases made. Customers are never the same and understanding how to serve them uniquely in a particular market, holds the key to profitability.

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How To Validate Start-up Ideas With Design Thinking

Innovators are concerned about building a product that will have a huge impact on the lives of people by increasing the quality of living standards, addressing a pain point or an alternative that is cost effective for its consumers. With these great thoughts comes a big question that has to be answered before launching a product or service and it is the question of “is there a market”? The addressable market size becomes a question to answer in order to ensure that when a product is manufactured, it will find users or consumers who are willing to utilize the product based on the offer that is being given. One of the techniques that most successful start-ups in the world has applied to ascertain whether a product will sell or not is called “Design Thinking” Leading Change One of the failures is the assumption that there is a market, is one that can be seen or witnessed in solutions that have been made for people. An example is the construction of an overhead bridge for pedestrians to avoid crossing the expressway. However, the humans who this provision has been made for usually ignore the bridge and use the expressway to connect to their routes, which even makes their transit riskier than the use of the overhead bridge. Why would anywhere risk their lives to cross an expressway when there is an overhead bridge beside them? Failure in the consideration of what would drive people to use the overhead bridge is what is lacking and why the preference for the use of the expressway. Would these same people use the overhead bridge if there were possible factors considered before making the designs? The answer is an absolute yes. The failure in the use of the overhead bridge is driven around the fact that the normal tendencies of human behavior were not considered before constructing the bridge. Human Centered Design Design thinking takes into consideration the natural tendencies of human behavior before designing a solution. This will ensure shared responsibility from both parties such that there is already a market with reasonable demand to capture a market share than can sustain the business when eventually presented to the users. The failure of most start-up ideas is embedded in the emotional attachment that founders have to their ideas which makes it difficult for them to be open to feedback from the prospective users. However, a fact based finding should be prioritized against emotions when creating a solution. How Design Thinking Drives Innovation There are five stages in the design thinking process 1. Empathize Being able to empathize with customers most especially when it is a challenge or pain point that makes the purchasing or usage of a product or service difficult for them gives you an opportunity to learn closely from them. Customers who have a reference point of a better offering would always voice out hence, active listening to their challenges is a great feedback for start-ups. This stage consists of interviews in getting to know what the ideal scenario is to prospective customers. 2. Define Having interviewed the prospects, it then becomes necessary to begin to define what the challenges are from all the opinions gathered from several interviews conducted with stakeholders. The age group of those facing these challenges, their income level, experience, education and location becomes parameters to pay attention to. 3. Ideate The aim of conducting interviews and surveys by visiting the field is to be able to generate a product or service that has a fit for the market. All the feedback that has been given now needs to undergo divergent or convergent processes where divergent takes the several opinions and create solutions around them while convergent thinking helps to narrow down to the best idea. These two thought processes helps to come up with what the proposed solution to be developed would be. 4. Prototype Prototyping involves making a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), a minimum viable product is one that is made with the minimum resources in order to furthermore see how customers interact with the product or service in its pilot or beta phase. The feedback from the usage and engage would then help to determine whether a full product would be manufactured or not. For digital products such as web or mobile apps, tools such as Figma or Adobe XD can be used to make a prototype. 5. Test The testing stage helps to pick the ideas that work and move very fast to implement them. If there are impediments or bugs, then it has to be corrected. When the product passes the testing stage, a complete product category can now be created and ready to make entry into the market. The first two stages in the process of design thinking helps to look out for evidence by carrying out Primary Market Research (PMR) to ascertain by means of qualitative and quantitative analysis the fact there are evidences to either support whether a challenge really exists or not for a solution to be created. Founders should learn to embrace what the primary market research presents in order to avoid losing big as a result of the assumptions of what they either expect the market to be or their emotional connection to the product. Read Also: Ten Marketing Tips for Startups

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