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Brick No90: How to win at skittles
By Matt Weston, Friday 13 August 2004 The life or death pitch I'm stereotyping today. Forget the fact that you might have dozens of different customer types, and that you need to treat them all differently . . . I want you to define your A1 ideal customer. A quick exercise: pretend you only need one sale to succeed in the next 6 months, but that you're only allowed to talk to one customer (or prospect) to get it. The Life Or Death Pitch. Who - exactly - would you pitch to? And do you know what your ideal customer earns? How he earns it? Where he likes to holiday? What he spreads on his toast? Or if in fact he is a she? Another lesson from the pulp king Stephen King (yep, him again) says: " Someone - I can't remember who, for the life of me - once wrote that all novels are really letters aimed at one person. As it happens, I believe this. I think that every novelist has a single ideal reader. " Again, you can apply that to your small business. Just as SK conjures up a mental picture of his single ideal reader to help him write his latest bestseller, you should focus on your single ideal customer every time you put together an advert, sales letter or website. How to win at skittles Yeah, but . . . surely if I focus my whole message on one customer, I'll alienate the rest of my target audience? Nope. Basically, as a small business you have two choices. The wrong choice is to dilute your sales pitch to appeal to everyone. The wider your "target audience", the more watery the message . . . the less responsive the pitch. And the right choice? Forget the vague notion of your"target audience", and instead concentrate on appealing to your single, specific "target customer". It's like skittles (I mean it). Hit the front pin - the Kingpin - and the rest will follow. If you tailor your message to speak directly to your ideal customer, chances are it will have the power to knock over your next best customer, and so forth. Some questions (to help you get your aim right): (1) Can you justify why your ideal customer is your ideal customer? (2) What is the single most interesting thing about your ideal customer? Can you describe that in one sentence to your bank manager, your best friend or your employees? (3) What is the difference between your ideal customer and those of your three main competitors? Remember to sign up: back to top |
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