Many businesses lack a comprehensive understanding of who their best customers are, even though these customers drive their profitability. Businesses need to understand their penetration within a particular sector, what their most lucrative activity is, and identify not only who their best customers are, but their primary motivations.
If you can’t be sure which organisations are your best customers, then you can’t tune your activity to them. You increase the risk of delivering low impact campaigns, tailored to the perceived audience, rather than the one that exists. Detailed knowledge of the competitive landscape and penetration helps businesses to focus on their most profitable segments. In today’s economic climate it is those businesses that do not waste time in following gut instincts or unlikely targets that will survive and grow.
Businesses need to know the size of their market to measure their penetration within it. With this calculated and defined, they can identify trends and employ methods to encompass more companies within that sector.By implementing research and taking that to the next step in utilising results, businesses can deliver a highly focused market strategy, with their target audience placed directly at the centre. These steps initially may take more time than desired, but they will save time and reap better rewards in the long run. Knowing how you benefit your existing customers is essential in becoming a consistent and valuable provider to them. By meeting and even surpassing their needs, they’ll continue their loyalty for years to come.
Professionals need to balance their time between high success industries and low performing ones, to ensure they provide a continued high level of attention to their existing customers. If too much time is concentrated in harnessing a new audience, the grip on established, valuable clients may loosen. They need to be included as part of market strategy.
Here are four key points to maximise potential:
1. Size your market
Sizing your market is key in understanding your potential. List your top eight to 10 industries,and list all of your customers in those industries. Compare that to the total industry universe to define your penetration. For example, if there are 50 companies in your target industry, and you’re encompassing 10 of those, you have approximately 20 per cent penetration in that industry.
The remaining 40 companies, or 80 per cent, is your target list to penetrate. Generating this list is crucial in identifying trends and creating a specially tailored go-to-market strategy
This would include tailored marketing campaigns based on industries you already know.
2. Stay proactively informed
Stay ahead by updating yourself on those matters most important to your customer base, and respond effectively. Become the best adviser on topical issues, and a trusted information source. With better knowledge, you can connect with your industry on a deeper level, strengthen relations and establish directly relevant practical marketing techniques.
Seek out and gather news, whether it is a new office opening, industry event or significant news in the market place. Be clear on how each news piece applies to their business, react to any knock-on effects, and be strategic in applying it to meet your customers’ needs.
Focus on the information that affects your most prospering clients, and deliver the news as a form of positive engagement. This will differentiate your sales teams in a competitive market place.
Not only that, examine who your toughest competitors are and their success strategies. Use your findings to compare and develop your improvement plan. Saying that, don’t restrict yourself, and allow some experimentation with new ideas as part of your own strategy. Be sure to measure the elicited response.
3. Keep expectations realistic
When it comes to broadening your penetration, it’s important to be realistic with the speed at which new relationships take to grow. New territories in particular take time with which to familiarise, and adding pressure can often do more harm than good.
Know you’re limits, and if you’re not fully informed on the industry and would benefit from specific expertise, then consider contracting a consultant. Take on board their inside information and advice as part of your planning and implementation model.
4. Interact both off and online
You can’t miss the abundance of training for companies to introduce social media, be it Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. If you don’t already have one in place, or it’s not properly assigned, then it’s a platform you need to pay attention to, in giving your brand a greater voice and interaction with your audience.
However, that’s not to say that this should take precedence over face to face networking. Join your industry offline and be physically visible in immersing yourself in your market to entice new customers, and be more widely accessible to your audience.
In conclusion, you need to know what your penetration is and where you potential market exists. Once you have that you are in a better position to centre your practice and maximise your market potential.