WHO IS YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER?

April 28, 2016

By Andrew Riddle, Client Services Director, RAPP Edinburgh

Here’s a simple question. A question that any important, purposeful brand should know the answer to quickly, with high-precision.

Who is your ideal customer?

When I asked this question recently to a group of valued and experienced marketers, everyone looked at each other – nobody truly willing to express an opinion of who sits in the magic top-right-quadrant of displaying high-value, deep-bonding loyalty.

I was surprised, but, I actually wonder, if this challenge is more widespread than not.

CMR needs a clear customer strategy

Not having a clear articulation of who your ideal customer is has an obscene implication on a brand’s precious marketing effort. And, when we take one of our strands of Core Dialog specialisms, CMR, an engine room of value generation, this competency cannot be fully charged without an ideal customer persona.

CMR is powerful, but it has to be strategically delivered, with a clear ultimate goal – a path to purchase and into passion. This means that a brand must have a clear and meaningful segmentation, allowing for a CMR strategy to be carefully aligned to each step of the modern buyer’s journey – whether that be in B2B or B2C.

Differentiated CMR will win

As we strive to deliver high-value, highly-bonded customers, we must ensure that CMR is differentiated. How often do we hear that brands are not rewarding customer engagement and loyalty? Fairly often – and that’s because brands need to step up, be brave and provide higher perceived value aligned to customer preferences and opt-in.

They must stop treating everyone the same. We are not created equal.

CMR must not be generically executed, it must be strategically presented – not only with contenand propositions that are served on a customer’s preference terms, but also based on their value or indeed potential value. If a punter has low value, then disinvest or structure your CMR with a light touch. Fish for the big fish and differentiate marketing spend, based on customer value. Yes, we like a volume of customers (it looks great to the stakeholders), but CMR must be structurally agile and deliver high-value touches to those prospects and customers that matter most.

Back to basics…

Marketing is not a dark art. It needs common sense and agile and precise thinking. But without a fix on an ideal customer, a brand will never win. It will pass like a ship in the night and miss on value creation. Let’s challenge our clients and prospects, ask the simple question, “Who is your ideal customer?” and map our strategic recommendations with differentiated effort.

Generic communications is lazy and wasteful marketing, so let’s be progressive, focus on our end customer state and accelerate people to want brands more than they have ever done.