Do You See Your Customer Parade
I suspect that most soloists think of their customers as a static, generalized group. Many buyers have common characteristics, and successful business owners remain attuned to their needs. But did you ever consider how fluid your customer base is, and how much it's changing?
In today's fast-paced, global economy, patterns of longstanding customers can change very quickly and new customers can spring up from unexpected places. As management consultant John Pearson observes: "Remember, you are talking not to a crowd but to a parade that is changing all the time. You must communicate with all the marchers -- young people are growing up, new people are assuming the burdens of the old, different people are moving into your area, even the same people are changing their thinking."
Do you understand the customer parade that's passing before your business? Are you communicating with all the marchers? Consider these three action steps:
1. Assess recent changes.
Review your customer base over the last 2-3 years. What patterns can you see? How has the "typical" customer for your solo business changed, and why? How much of the change can be attributed to external factors, and how much due to elements from within (such as your personal choices or professional development)?
2. Anticipate future trends.
What transformations do you anticipate in your customer parade over the coming 12 months? How might technological advances, economic factors, social issues, political events, or other dynamics impact your customer base?
3. Analyze the intersection.
Where do the paths of your business goals and the trendline of future customers intersect? How can you prepare for the marchers coming your way?
Companies attuned to their customer parade can weather the harsh storms of capitalism. For example, a dozen years ago Steve Jobs returned to an Apple Computer that was in shambles, and reinstated a sense of business focus and product design. Jobs also intuitively understood that in the years he had been away, Apple's customer parade had passed -- from aging Boomers entranced with the personal computer, to a younger generation attracted to music and mobile devices. Jobs' introduction of colorful iMac computers, the iPod, and the iPhone revitalized the company and changed the computer, music, and communication industries in the process. It's a valuable lesson for companies of all sizes -- even soloists.
-- Terri Lonier © 2008
Founder, WorkingSolo.com
This article originally appeared in Working Solo Newsletter, which you can find at the website, www.workingsolo.com
