The Pareto Principle (aka “the 80/20 Rule”) states that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. Based on this principle, you should then focus your time, energy and resources on those 20% of activities which yield the highest rate of return.
Makes sense, right?
Of course you want to invest your limited resources where they’ll generate the highest return!
But let’s take it a step further and look at how this concept applies to your customer base, as well.
When you think about it, identifying your best current or potential customer is the first step toward maximizing your sales and growing your business. Therefore, it is worth investing some time to identify this key piece of information – and then use it to determine how you promote and market your products or services online.
Have You Created an Ideal Customer Profile?
The first, and most obvious, place to start is with your current customer base. Who are your top 10 customers in terms of overall profitability (in terms of both time invested and money)? Among your most profitable clients, who do you most – and least – enjoy working with?
(If you are just getting started, look at your industry and you main product/service offerings. Then, identify what core problems or needs they solve and start brainstorming on who might benefit most from them).
While creating this profile, here are a few factors to consider:
If your target is a consumer-oriented market: age, gender, income level, shopping habits, marital and family status, hobbies, and needs/wants that need to be met (that you can fill)
If your target market is business-oriented: ultimate decision maker’s position within the organization, budget, length of sales cycle, company size, main competitors, industries or markets served, and problems they have (that you can solve).
See where I am going with this?
The goal is to identify who your best customers are, find out what characteristics they have in common – and then use that knowledge to connect with them online (via your web content) .
Before you add one word of content to your site – it pays to do this ground work because it allows you to tailor your message to suit the absolute best prospects for your business.
This will help save you a lot of time, money and aggravation while you build the absolute best online business presence you can.
Til Next Time,
