Well, I guess someone had a bit of a marketing database glitch.

Know Your Customers

Nearly every business continually tries to find more customers.   It’s the foundation of growth.    One of the best places to begin looking for more customers is your existing customer base.   Logic has it that if someone has already found your product to solve their wants or needs, then other similar customers may want your product as well.

Start By Learning Everything About Your Existing Customers

Every business, regardless of size, needs a customer database, the more detailed the better.    Information should include:

♦ Customer contact information

♦ Buying history, preferences

♦ Demographic information

♦ Psychographic information

♦ Geographic information

Enriching Your Database

Don’t have all the information on your customers?  Add it after the fact. How?   Ask them.   Survey them.  Research them.   Find out why they purchased initially and what they like best about your product or service.   Discover where they find information to make their buying decisions. Identify SIC codes from the OSHA database and NAICS codes from the NAICS Association. Find additional information on small and mid-sized businesses at Manta.

Using Your Customer Database to Find New Customers

Analyze your existing customers to determine common characteristics.   Craft your marketing message with positioning targeting the features most desired by your existing customers.  Purchase mailing lists with similar geographic, SIC codes and the correct demographic information .  Create a marketing message that addresses customers’ concerns throughout the buying process  - whether in email campaigns, advertisements, landing pages, forms or at the time of purchase – ensure well-timed content is available at each stage, based on knowledge gained from your existing customers.

Next-> Target Markets and Segmentation

Think of the discovery process method much like a brainstorming session ~ the goal is to obtain a large amount of information & criticism is not allowed (there will be plenty of time for that in the next phases). For items that require self, and/or competitor assessment, honesty is the best policy.

So, let’s get started gathering…

Marketing

• Create a list of previous & current marketing tactics (online & offline)
• Gather previous market research obtained in the last 12 months
• Compile examples of marketing collateral, presentations, etc.
• Create a library of press releases, newsletters, etc
• Pull together website and/or blog information & statistics for the last 12 months
• List trade shows & industry events
• Do you participate in any co-op, partner or affiliate marketing programs?
• Assemble ROI information.

Products or Services

• Outline the products/services offered in 1 page or less
• Describe the key product benefits and competitive differentiators
• Accumulate relevant product documentation (descriptions, feature lists, etc)
• What are the top 5 most profitable products offered?

Sales

• Identify lead sources and, if possible, lead generation ROI
• Document the sales process on one page with approximate timeframes for each phase of the sale process
• Describe pricing rationale, previous use of incentives, discounts, etc.
• Assemble previous sales statistics for the last 2-3 years (separate new & existing customers)

Existing Customers

• Examine your customer database – what information is being collected & is it accurate?  If available, analyze industry information by SIC or NAICs code, geography, etc.
• Brainstorm with the sales team (if applicable) to create a profile of your current customer – who is the hunter, the buyer, the influencer?
• What are their likes, dislikes, buyer motivations, etc.?

Competitors

• Identify your top 3-5 competitors
• Summarize each competitors’ strengths & weaknesses, customer base, marketing tactics, online presence, etc.
• Create a competitor comparison grid. Across the left, list your company & the competitors identified above. Across the top, list the key elements of why prospects purchase from you – product, price, availability, customer service, etc,)
• Assign a competency ranking of 1-10 (10 is best:think bowling, not golf) for each company & element.

And last….

What is a (reasonable) definition of marketing success?

Next -> Defining Features and Maximizing Benefits