Tips for defining your true customer!
Who exactly is my client?
The initial step in the creation of a distinctive strategy calls for a radical rethinking of the question of who is my client?
The question may seem straightforward; however, how many businesses actually think about this question in a proactive and explicit manner? What is the number of companies that have an established set of guidelines that they apply to each and every customer? And more importantly, how many companies have to deal with customers they’ve identified as bad customers?
When a manager seeks to identify and utilize unpredictability in its strategic positioning, it faces an issue of strategic importance. The question is: Who is our real customer? The reason to think strategically about this issue is to identify potential customers who are not yet identified or segment customers already in the market in a way that is creative that can result in the impression of appreciation.
A lot of companies think that new customer segments are created only when new needs of customers are identified. Although the development of new customer requirements is certainly a major source for new customer segments, it’s not the only source, and there are numerous ways in which companies can identify their existing customers and establish new segments. Before describing some of them, it’s crucial to keep in mind that a business won’t succeed unless it actively is thinking about the question, “Who really is my client?”
Find the priorities, efficiencies, and desires to please!
In most cases, the needs of customers remain the same, but their preferences shift. For instance, consumers require warmth and design from their coats; however, compared to thirty or forty years ago, fashion is a top priority of priorities for customers, which creates an opportunity for someone to establish a business and provide especially stylish coats. So a business that recognizes the changing needs (not requirements) can create an exclusive customer segment of consumers who place the most importance on something that is more appealing to them than its competition.
A company could also find a certain segment of customers that are not being addressed by current competitors. The reason why these customers aren’t addressed is not that the companies have not yet identified their requirements. They may be aware of them but have concluded that the market isn’t large enough to be developed, or they are unable to provide this market with profit with their current setup.
If a brand new business is able to set up its operations in a manner to efficiently serve this particular niche, the company will have a new segment of customers to choose from and not because new needs for customers have arisen but rather because it has discovered the most efficient method to meet the needs of existing customers. If this particular niche grows in the future, then the company will be able to serve a huge segment available.
Another way to find an entirely new segment of customers is to think of creative ways to segment your existing customers and combine different types of customers together in accordance with an entirely new concept. Combining existing customer segments can let a company create entirely new demand and create new segments – which was the situation in the case of Apple introducing the iPhone.
When a company discovers a new market, it will establish an effective plan to meet the unique requirements of the customers within it. The business model it chooses to use will likely differ from the ones used by established competitors to service their customers. This company is likely to break the rules of this business not for the reason that it was intent on doing so but because its actions are precisely what its customers want.
Find your clients and be a rebel in your marketplace!
Many strategic innovators started in this manner. First, they identified a specific customer section (usually, however, not all the time at the bottom of the spectrum) or a niche that was not being adequately served by competitors. They then developed their delivery and product offerings to meet the needs of this particular customer segment.
What they got was a model of business that was totally different from the models that their competitors were serving the majority of customers. This type of business model innovation is the basis for the growth of companies like Tesco, Canon, Apple, easy-Jet, Body Shop, CEMEX, and Virgin Atlantic Airways.